The Fire
by seejanewrite88
Summary: (COMPLETE) Someone's trying to kill Suze's friends. Could she be next? R&R! About 4 years after Twilight
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys. This just came into my head earlier… I hope you like it.

**Summary: It's 4 years after Twilight. Someone is killed in what appears to be a tragic accident, but turns out to be murder. Can Suze and Jesse stop the murderer before he gets his next victim—Suze?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mediator series.**

**Rating: PG-13**

Chapter One

"So, what did you think?" I asked Jesse, entwining my fingers with his. We had just gone out to see a movie, taking advantage of the night that his class was cancelled and I was free. He squeezed my hand.

"I enjoyed it. What about you?"

"Yeah, I thought it was really good." We continued talking about the movie until we arrived at his street corner.

"Want to come over?" he asked. "Mrs. Lopez brought over a cake earlier. We could have dessert." Mrs. Lopez was the wife of Jesse's landlord, and was in love with him, since he always helped her with the building maintenance.

"Of course. You know I _love_ Mrs. Lopez's cakes." I grinned at him, and he wrapped his arm around my waist.

An hour later, Jesse and I had finished our cake, and were making out on his couch. His hands slipped under my new hot pink silk tee-shirt. Jesse, while he has modernized considerably, still won't sleep with me until we're married. He has, however, consented to rounding a few more bases since he was a ghost.

As his hands slid along my sides, I felt a buzzing on my leg… 

Which I suddenly realized was my cell phone, still on vibrate from the movie.

"Mmm… Jesse… my phone is vibrating…" I mumbled with difficulty. There was, after all, an extra tongue in my mouth. "It might be about Lola." Lola was Jake's girlfriend, who was pregnant and due in about 3 weeks. Jesse sighed, and rolled off me. I sat up, pulled the phone out of my pocket, and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Soozanah?" I recognized the slightly broken English of my neighbor, Anna.

"Anna? Is that you?"

"Oooh, Soozanah, vere ahre yoo?"

"I'm at my boyfriend's apartment." I could hear sirens in the background, and started to get nervous. "What's going on?"

"Soozanah, zere vas a fire in ze building," she shouted into the phone. The reality of those words hit me like a truck.

"Oh my God. Is… is everything okay?" I asked desperately.

"Vell, zey took a few people from ze first floor to ze 'ospital. But I do not know about our apartments." I rested my forehead in my hands, and Jesse looked at me with concern and rubbed my back. "I zink your rooms are fine, but eet ees not safe to stay tonight. Ees zere a place you can stay? My son is picking me up and taking him to his apartment."

"Yes… yes… Thank you, Anna." I hung up the phone. "SHIT!" I exclaimed.

"What happened?" Jesse asked, taking my hand.

"There was a fire at my building." His eyes widened. "Can I stay here tonight? I can't go home."

"Of course, Querida." He wrapped his arms around me, and kissed the top of my head. "Everything is fine… you're okay." We sat there, with him holding me, for who knows how long.

Eventually, we realized it was getting late, and Jesse gave me a pair of boxers and a tee-shirt to wear to bed (no way was I going to be comfortable in my dark, low-rise jeans), and changed into a pair of plaid pajama pants himself. Seeing him without his shirt cheered me up a little bit.

"Now, get to bed, Querida. You need your rest." I crawled into his bed, and he climbed in next to me. After a quick kiss, he shut off the lights and I curled up against him. I soon felt my head rising and falling steadily along with his chest, and I knew that he was asleep.

What was the state of my apartment? Was any of my stuff left? Did I even have a home? Were those poor people taken away alright? I knew one girl on the first floor, Krystal. She was in some of my classes at college, and we were good friends. Was she okay?

Despite my worry, I eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, I woke up, and lay there, staring at the foreign ceiling and coffee-au-lait colored walls, trying to figure out where I was and what I was doing. However, when I looked over and saw a picture of Jesse and me on the bedside table, I realized that I was in his bedroom, and remembered why I was in there. I rolled over, and Jesse was gone. I heard noises in the kitchen, so I threw the covers off of me, and trotted into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Jesse," I said, walking through the door. I went over to the sink, where he was, and kissed him on the cheek. However, I heard someone choke, and I realized we weren't alone. Father Dominic was sitting at Jesse's kitchen table, midway through a cup of coffee, with a shocked look on his face.

"Susannah…what… what…" he sputtered, and I realized how compromising this situation was. I was at Jesse's apartment at quarter to 8 in the morning, coming out of his bedroom in his boxers and his tee-shirt. Jesse apparently realized it at the same time, because he quickly interrupted Father Dom.

"Susannah had to stay over. There was a fire at her building last night." His face no longer looked like he was afraid for our immortal souls for having premarital sex, but was now set with concern.

"That was your building? Oh, Susannah, is everything alright? Have… have you heard about that young woman?" I gave him a blank stare, and got myself a cup of green tea.

"What young woman?"

"Oh, Susannah. That's why I came here. I was visited by a woman, Krystal Matthews, early this morning… who died at the hospital last night, from smoke inhalation and 3rd degree burns." Oh God. Krystal died. I collapsed into a chair, and my face fell into my hands, tears beginning to prick at the back of my eyes and surge up my throat. I let out a sob, and Jesse dropped the pot he was washing, and rushed to my side. He pulled me into his arms, and I began crying on his shoulder. He murmured comforting things in my ear, and stroked my back until I relaxed. After I had calmed down and stopped crying, I heard someone behind me, and I turned, and saw Krystal.

Read and review, darlings. And maybe you'll get another chapter tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow! I posted my chapter, went to bed, then when I woke up I came down and checked my e-mail… to find, like, 9 reviews! In less than 12 hours! You guys rock. And to award you for your rock-ness, I wrote a new chapter for you guys. That, and I actually got some work done on my thesis (Analyzing The Scarlet Letter to decide whether Hawthorne condemned or condoned adultery. Yawn.) So, enjoy, and keep the reviews coming :)

Chapter Two

"Krystal!" I jumped up and gave her a hug, which she returned, sort of shocked.

"You can see me too?" She asked. I nodded, and sniffed.

"Oh, Krystal… you… you…" I couldn't get it out, but as it turned out, I didn't need to.

"Are dead? Yea, I know. It sucks."

"How did the fire start? Was it wiring?" Father Dominic asked. "That happened at another building last week." Krystal snorted.

"Not wiring. Unless the wiring just happened to decide to combust while the guy who tied me up was throwing gasoline all over my furniture and carpet." I dropped my mug, which shattered.

"Gasoline?" I asked faintly. Jesse and Father D. looked shocked. "You mean… he killed you?"

"Yeah… I was working on that lit paper we have due next week, and I then there was a knock at the door so I went to get it, and the guy hit me over the head with something… then when I woke back up, I was tied to a chair, and he was dousing the couch with gasoline… then, he jumped out the window… and I just saw him toss a match in. That was the last thing I remember."

"Oh my God," I said weakly. "Do… do you know who?" She shook her head, and I sank back into the chair. Jesse put a hand on my shoulder comfortingly, and, as usual, was rational and level-headed.

"Do they have any leads?" She shook her head.

"I don't think they are even suspecting arson at this point. I heard a fireman talking, apparently Linda, the landlady, called in, reporting a gas leak about an hour before, and that's what they think happened. A random spark hit the gas, and kaboom." The room fell silent, all of us lost in thought.

"Can you take me there," I asked Jesse. "I need to see if I have anything left."

"Of course, Querida."

"I'm going to head over now," Father Dominic said. "I'll see if I can get any information." He headed towards the door.

Krystal left with Father Dominic, and Jesse and I got dressed—me, back into the outfit from yesterday—and left his apartment.

We went onto the subway that took me within a block of my home. Jesse and I managed to find seats, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I held on to his waist. "Everything will be okay, _Querida_," he whispered, and kissed my forehead. I gave him a small, sad smile and kissed him gently on the lips.

We were still kissing each other gently when we pulled into another stop, and I heard someone call my name. I pulled away from Jesse reluctantly, a bit annoyed at being interrupted.

"Oh, hey, Angela." Angela was a friend of mine. Well, sort of. She was more of a hanger-on of my little group of friends at college, and the younger sister of my friend Beth. "What's up?"

"I was just heading over to your building, actually. Krystal asked me to meet her there at around nine to help me with my bio paper. I totally do not get the whole tRNA thing." Krystal was awesome at science, I remembered sadly.

"Oh Ang.." I trailed off. "Krystal… Krystal… there was a fire at the building, on her floor…" I was about to say that she died, but I realized that I wasn't supposed to know that. "I'm not sure if she's okay," I amended. Her eyes widened, and the pleasant smile that had been on her face dropped off.

"There was a fire?" I nodded sadly. The train stopped again, and we were at my street. The three of us got off. "Listen… I'm going to go let Beth, Cate, Lisa, and Mara know… okay?" I nodded, and she went off in a different direction.

The building was still standing, thank God. A fire truck was still parked outside, with a few firemen and police officers mulling around. I saw Father Dominic talking to a police man, and Krystal's ghost was hanging out nearby.

Jesse squeezed my hand reassuringly, and I walked over to a fireman who was at the door to my building. "Excuse me… can I get up to my apartment? I live in 4C." He looked at me, scrutinized me.

"What's your name?"

"Susannah Simon." He looked at a clipboard, and nodded curtly.

"Did you know the girl in 1D?" I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Yes. Krystal Matthews. She wa--is my friend." He looked at my sympathetically.

"We… found a body in that apartment. We contacted her family, but they all live in Texas. They're on their way, but we need an ID on the body. Could you come over to the morgue, and tell us if it's her?" I nodded silently. He led me to a police car, spoke to the policeman quickly, who nodded, and climbed in with me. Jesse slid in next to me.

About ten minutes later, we pulled up to the hospital, and the policeman led me to the morgue. It was cold, and when they led me to the body, I saw Krystal appear next to me.

"Brace yourself, guys… it's not pretty," she told me. Jesse needn't worry… he was pre-med.

He removed the sheet, and I gasped involuntarily. Her once beautiful face was burned, nearly beyond recognition. It was charred and blistered, and her hair, her perfect, soft, shiny hair, was fried. However, despite the fact that Krystal actually told me it was her, I recognized a locket that her boyfriend, Dave, had given her. I also recognized the tattered skirt that she was in, as the one that I had loaned her the day before for her date with Dave.

"That's her. I recognize her necklace… and the skirt is mine." They re-covered her, and slid her back into the wall. "We have an ID," he called to someone. "Now, can you tell me, what is her full name?"

"Krystal Anne Matthews."

"Her date of birth?"

"Um… April-something. The 28th, maybe. Or it might be the 18th."

"The _eighth_, Simon. Cate's birthday is _October_ 18th. And Mara is December 28th."

"The eighth. It's the eighth." He nodded.

"You can go." Jesse and Krystal helped me out of the morgue, and set me down at the nearest chair, my knees had gone weak, and I was beginning to cry again.

"It's like that summer… when we found your body, Jesse. It never really hit me that you were dead until I saw your skeleton," I sobbed, earning some weird looks from other people sitting there. He pulled me into his arms, and held me against him, stroking my back and shushing me.

"I know… I know, _Querida_."

Krystal looked at me, sort of uncomfortably with such an outpouring of grief for her sake. "Suze, listen, it's okay… I'm still here. Just… not in my body."

"But seeing you… and you were all charred and blistered and dead…" I cried. A woman who was sitting near me stood up too casually and walked over to the nurse's station, said something quietly, and then the nurse turned and looked at me. Jesse noticed this, and hastily wiped away my tears.

"Susannah… I hate to say this, but let's go for now. We're getting some.. unwanted attention." I looked up, and realized what was going on—and what I had been saying—and nodded quickly and stood up.

"Okay." I sniffed, and Jesse wrapped his arm around my waist, and he led me out to the police car. The policeman had followed us at a distance, giving us some privacy. We climbed back into the car, and he drove us back to my apartment building.

I climbed up the creaking stairs, the smell of smoke lingering in my nostrils. I could hear the louder creaks of Jesse's steps from behind me, and we eventually got up to the fourth floor. I unlocked the door—thankful that there was actually a door to speak of—an was relieved.

There was water damage, and everything was very smoky, and some of the walls were darkened. But nothing was burned. I still had most of my stuff.

"Thank God," I sighed. The landlady came up behind me.

"Hey, Ms. Simon. Listen, I talked to almost everyone else about this… but, because we have to fix and remodel the bottom floor, into to mention most of the other floors—it's a miracle they got here before the fire got the fourth floor—but, this building will be uninhabitable for the next 3 months, at least." I nodded, expecting as much.

"Okay… thanks, Linda." She nodded, started to leave, then stopped. "I'm…sorry about Krystal. I know you two were close." I gave her a small smile, and she left.

"Damn. Now I have to find a new home, on top of everything else," I moaned, and sank down onto my couch—which I realized, too late, was soaked.

"Well, Susannah, you can move in with me, for the time being…if you're comfortable with that, of course." I gave him a smile, and threw myself at him.

"Thanks _so _much, Jesse. Are you sure? I can be a bit of a hassle to live with," I said, with a smile on my face.

"I think I can manage it," he joked, grinning back at me. I had cheered up considerably, knowing that I could still talk to Krystal, that I wasn't living with only the clothes that were on my back, and that I had a home.

I called my parents, and let them know what was going on. My mother was shocked when I told her I'd be living with Jesse, then sympathetic when she heard of Krystal's death. She told me that she'd send Andy over to get my furniture, and try to fix the damages. Then Jesse and I packed up my stuff, and left the still smoldering and smoking building,

Not a very happy chapter for Suze, huh? Well, I might get a chapter out tomorrow, if I don't have school (we do, after all, have over a foot of snow.) But, as for this one, let me know what you think.

I got a bunch of review last time, I expect a bunch of reviews this time ;-)


	3. Chapter 3

Hey all. Thanks a ton for all the reviews. I feel so… I don't know. Loved, among the Mediator fanfic community.

Here's another chapter, since I don't have a ton of homework (though I did have school all week.) And now it's a weekend (although a sort of busy one) so I should be able to get a chapter out tomorrow… if I focus.

Chapter Three

It's been two weeks since Krystal died and I moved in with Jesse. Krystal still hangs around, though. And, well, Father Dominic was not exactly enthusiastic when I told him that I'd be living with him for the time being. In fact, he offered to house me himself, but come on. Living with a nearly 70 year old priest, or your boyfriend? Not that Jesse has tried anything—unfortunately. He's still sticking to his abstinence thing. Though living together, and sharing a bed, has made it a little less easy.

It was now Thursday night, the night when all of my friends and I get together and hang out. It will also be the first one since Krystal died (though I was the only one who knew that she would actually be present).

Jesse was kind enough to house my friends for the evening, so by 8:30, his small living room was filled with my friends, Mara, Cate, Beth, Lisa, and Angela. On the coffee table were a plate of brownies (made by Beth) and a bottle of wine (brought by Lisa). _Authors note: Suze _is_ 21 now, as are all her friends_ Jesse came in for a moment, and leaned over the edge of the couch, where I was sitting, and wrapped his arms around my shoulders to whisper in my ear.

"Susannah, there is a ghost of a man in my bedroom, I've asked him to meet me at the park as not to interrupt you, okay? I'll be gone for an hour or so, maybe more."

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" He smiled.

"Enjoy your time with your friends. You guys deserve to have some fun." I gave him a quick kiss, and he stood back up, grabbed his suede jacket, and left, calling out a, "Goodbye, ladies," as he locked the door.

"God, Suze, Jesse is such a sweetheart," Mara moaned enviously. "You two are _so_ sweet together."

I grinned modestly. "Yea, but you and Luke are perfect for each other. You are seriously the epitome of an awesome couple." I argued back. "You guys _all_ have awesome, sweet, funny boyfriends. If it weren't for Jesse, do you think I'd be sitting _here_, while all of you were out of the way and I knew they were alone?" I joked. They all laughed, but I heard Angela sigh, irritated.

"You guys are all so _lucky_. You all have awesome boyfriends, and they are all crazy about you. Me? No one likes _me_." I looked at her, surprised. She was never like this. She was always the pleasant one of the group, though maybe not the brightest. But she had never seemed jealous. Krystal, who had shown up right before Jesse left, shot me an alarmed look.

"Aw, Angela, you'll find your guy," Beth said, older-sister vibes setting in.

"Yea, what about that sandwich maker at Subway? You two seemed pretty friendly," Mara teased. Angela rolled her eyes, but dropped the subject.

The six (seven) of us continued chatting, laughing, and catching up, though it was more subdued than usual, after Krystal's death. We were all still reeling at the fact that she was murdered. Who could murder sweet, carefree, smart, funny, cute Krystal? Everyone loved her.

Jesse returned around 10:30, and told me that he would be going to bed. He had a 8:00 class on Friday mornings. Soon after that, Angela left. She said she was tired, but she had been really tense and irritated ever since Jesse had left. I figured she was pissed off at something, and figured it would be best for her, and all of us, if she just went home and chilled, so we didn't put up that much of an argument. Pretty soon, they had all gone. They didn't want to disturb Jesse, though, knowing him, he was probably still awake, reading. Krystal helped me clean up, before dematerializing.

At about quarter after eleven, I climbed into bed next to Jesse, and he lifted his eyes from his book.

"Did you have a good time with your friends?" Jesse asked.

"Wonderful. Thanks so much for letting us hang out here tonight."

"Was it hard for Krystal, not being able to talk to her friends?" I considered.

"Yea, I think so. A few times she started to say something, but then someone else just kept talking. But she always did sort of like being the fly on the wall, and just observing… so with everything else, it's okay. It's just around Mara and Lisa—they were closest to her, after all—that it's particularly hard." Jesse nodded.

"It was like that with my family, after I died. I tried going home, but I just couldn't. I returned to the boarding house—your house—after I just got so angry at not being able to talk to my family." He said that last few words in a yawn, so I hit him playfully on the arm.

"Go to sleep, you. No more reading." I took the book from him, and put it on my nightstand. Teasingly, he reached to get it, consequently almost laying on top of my stomach. I laughed, and poked his side, and he collapsed on top of me, laughing. I pulled his hands away from the book, and placed them on the bed on either side of me. He forgot about his book, and instead leaned down to kiss me. This was a favorable change of events. I figured it was safe for now to let go of his hands—I didn't think he's make a grab for the book _now_—so I circled my arms around his neck, and kissed back.

At least, until he suddenly broke off, about ten minutes later. Breathing heavily, he rolled off of me, and onto his back. "I think it's time to go to sleep, querida." Rolling my eyes, I leaned over and switched off the light. I gave him a quick kiss, then curled up under the covers, and let sleep take me.

However, I had just fallen asleep when I heard the phone ring next to me. I couldn't sleep through the shrill tones, and I felt Jesse stir beside me. I reached over and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I said groggily and softly.

"Suze! It's me, Lisa. Mara's in the hospital."

"_What?_" Unfortunately, I lost my quietness, and Jesse woke up, and gave me a curious—if not half asleep—look.

"I just got the call from the hospital. It was a hit and run. Someone found her, about half an hour ago, and called 911."

"Is…is she okay?" I asked shakily. Jesse was wide awake now, and worried. He could read me like one of his books, and knew that I was scared.

"She's in surgery. But the doctor I just talked to thinks she has a good chance of recovering. She lost a lot of blood, and has a few broken bones, not to mention a bit of internal damage… but he said she has a 80 chance of full recovery." I groaned.

"I'll be there as soon as possible. Call me on my cell if anything changes." I hung up, and leapt out of bed. I pulled on a pair of sweatpants over my boxers, and a tee-shirt over my camisole. Jesse got out of bed too, and came over to me.

"Susannah, what's happened?" I took a deep breath.

"It's Mara… she was hit by a car." His eyes widened.

"Is she okay? What happened?"

"Lisa says there's an 80 chance of recovery… but she's still in surgery. And it was a hit and run." My voice broke, and Jesse took me in his arms. After a few minutes, I pulled away.

"I've got to get to the hospital."

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Hmm. Now review.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"I'm coming with you," Jesse said, pulling on a tee-shirt.

"Jesse, no. You've got class in 7 hours. Go back to sleep, and I'll call when I get news, okay?" He looked uncertain, but sat back down on the bed.

"Be careful. And call me as soon as you get there, okay? You know I don't like you wandering around the city after midnight." I nodded, gave him a quick kiss, grabbed my purse, and left the apartment.

I hurried to the nearest bust stop, but had to wait nearly 15 minutes before the bus came. Aggravated, I paced back and forth before it pulled up. What the hell was going on? Krystal was murdered… Mara was hit by a car. Could the two be related?

No. It couldn't. How crazy and insane would that be. My life wasn't some soap opera or crime show… it was just my life. It must just be a horrible coincidence. Someone was speeding, hit her, and then was too much of a cowardly jackass to stop.

The bus _finally_ showed up, and I hurried on and paid my fare. The rest of the 15 minute ride, I sat nervously, chewing on my fingernails and running my hands through my hair.

Suddenly, I heard the familiar ring on my phone, and I pulled it out of my purse. I checked the number, and it was Lisa's.

"Lisa. Hey. What's happened?" I asked immediately.

"She should be coming out of surgery within the next half hour. And her survival chances are up to 95." I let out a sigh.

"Thank God. Listen, I should be there within, like, 5 minutes, okay?"

"Okay." I hung up, _so_ much more relieved.

Once at the hospital, I called Jesse as I was walking through the doors, and finding the elevator to get to the 5th floor. I told him the news, and he seemed much happier as well.

I found Lisa sitting in the waiting room, and Krystal was there too, unbeknownst to her. "Hey," I said, sliding into the chair next to her. "Any news?"

"She's in recovery, waking up from the anesthesia. We should be able to see her in about half an hour." I nodded. There was a silence, but then Lisa continued talking. "God. What is happening? Krystal is murdered… Mara is hit by a car, and nearly dies…" So she had the same thoughts that I did.

"I know… it must be a weird coincidence, though. It has to be. This whole situation is just… horrible, and it's making us get paranoid. It's natural, after having a friend die, especially at the hands of another person. And here we go, having one friend get murdered, and the other gets hit by a car." I found I was talking, not only to convince her, but myself. "By the way… did they make any arrests?" She shook her head.

"I got a call at about quarter after midnight from her mom. They said that a woman found her, next to her car, while she was taking her dog out. She called the police, and then called her parents, who she had as contact information in her purse, then Catalina called me, to ask if I knew what had happened."

"Where is Mrs. Lowell?"

"She lives about 2 hours away, with Mara's step-dad. She is on her way."

About 20 minutes later, a doctor emerged from a door, and called, "Lisa Hathaway?" We both stood up. "You two are here for Miss Lowell?"

"Yes… can we see her?" I asked.

"She is awake, but still very groggy. She broke her leg, three ribs, her collar bone, and her left arm, so she won't be able to move for a while. Are you her family?"

"No, we're her friends. Her mother is on her way." He nodded, and led us into her room.

Mara lay there, her usually glowing tan skin gray and bruised. Her lip was cut and swollen, and there was a gash on her forehead, covered by a slightly bloody gauze.

"Hey, guys… what's shaking?" She asked hoarsely.

"Oh, God, Mara, we're so glad you're alright!" Lisa cried.

"What happened?" I asked. She twisted her face in concentration.

"I don't really remember that well. I know that after I left your building, I went over to my car, which was parked on that side street. I was trying to find my keys in my bag, I think. Then I just heard the rev of an engine, and I turned, and saw two headlights… and that was it. I vaguely remember waking up for an instant, I heard a dog barking, and a lady yelling." That must have been the woman who called the police.

At that moment, Mara's mother rushed into the room.

"Oh, my baby…" She rushed over and kissed her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"I'll live," Mara said weakly. Lisa and I (and Krystal) politely stepped out of the room, giving Mara and her mother privacy. However, after about ten minutes of waiting in the hallway, talking much more animatedly than we were before, we saw two police officers talking to the nurse at the nurse's station, then she pointed over towards Mara's room. They went in, and about twenty minutes later they re-emerged, looking around. One spotted us, and came over.

"Excuse me, ladies. Can we talk to you?" she said. Her badge said "Officer Leah Hopkins" on it.

"Of course…what do you need?" Lisa asked hesitantly.

"We just spoke to Mara Lowell about her hit and run, and she informed us that she was over at your apartment moments before it occurred."

"Well, it isn't my apartment—it's my boyfriends. I'm just staying with him for the next few months, since there was a fire in my building. But yeah, she was over. So were the rest of our friends—Beth and Angela Postmouth, Cate Jackson, and of course Lisa here, and Mara."

"Where was your boyfriend at the time?"

"Jesse was there for some of it, but then he went out for a walk. He came back at about 10:30, then went to bed." They wrote all of this down on their little notebook.

"What time, approximately, did the guests leave?"

"Oh God… let me think." I brought my memory back to the previous night. Jesse came home…

"Well, our friend Angela left soon after that. Then Cate, then Beth… did you leave before Mara?" I asked Lisa. She shook her head.

"We left at the same time, but I was taking the subway back to my neighborhood, and she had her car parked in the opposite direction, so I said goodbye to her in front of the building."

"For clarification, your boyfriend—Jesse?—returned _before_ Mara Lowell left, correct?"

"Yes. I'm positive. She in fact told me that she knew Jesse was trying to sleep, and that's why she left."

"Do you know what he did while he was out? Did he meet with anyone, possibly a potential driver in this incident?" My eyes bulged out of my sockets.

"What the hell! Are you suggesting Jesse was in on it? How the hell do you know that there was even a plan, or anything? Jesse didn't do _anything_. Mara was just hit by someone going to fast, then was too cowardly to stop," I exploded.

"We do not believe Jesse was 'in on it.'" Officer Leah said. "However, we also do not think that it was merely an accident, and an act of cowardice. Mara was found on a side street, barely narrow enough to drive through when another car was parked on the side. There isn't a conceivable way that she was hit by a speeder, without their own car crashing into hers. And the tire marks suggest that the driver in question hit her, then backed up and hit her again, several times."

"What? You mean, some one was out to get her?" Lisa asked hoarsely. All of my previous fears rushed back.

"Yes. Which is why we would like to question Jesse, to see if he perhaps saw anyone suspicious." I put my head in my hand.

"When?"

"As soon as possible. We'd like to send an officer over now, if possible. The more time it takes to get evidence, the more likely it is that Mara's attempted murderer gets away." I sighed.

"Just let me call him and give him a heads up, okay?" They nodded. I pulled out my cell phone.

"Mmm… hello?" After about 6 rings, Jesse picked up. It was clear he was still half asleep, and I felt bad about waking him up.

"Jesse, it's me. I'm really sorry to wake you."

"_Querida_, it's fine." He yawned. "But what is it?"

"The police want to come talk to you."

"To me?" he asked, sounding a bit more awake. "What for?"

"They need to question you about last night, and the, uh, walk that you took." I emphasized that last bit, so that he knew that I told them that, when he went out to mediate that ghost, he was taking a walk.

"When I went to the park?" He asked carefully.

"Yes. I would ask them not to bother you until later, but they said that the sooner they get evidence the better, and otherwise whoever hit her could get away."

"Of course, _Querida_. I understand. I'll be expecting them."

"Thank you so much, Jesse. I love you."

"I love you too." He hung up, and so did I.

"He's expecting you," I told Officer Leah. She nodded in thanks.

"Would you like a ride back to the apartment? Or would you prefer to stay here?" she asked.

"Thanks. I'm just going to go say goodbye to Mara." She nodded. I knocked gently on the door, then went into Mara's room. Her mother was sitting on the chair next to the bed, and when she saw me, she put her finger to her lips. I saw that Mara was asleep, so I crept over and whispered to Catalina, "When she wakes up, tell her that I'll come by again later." She nodded, and I left the room, and followed Officer Leah to her cruiser.

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Sorry it took a while. I got busy. Now, review, and maybe I'll make time to write more.


	5. Chapter 5

Right, so who else is peeved about the gag order the administration at MCBC put on us about fan fiction? No STORY TITLES? That's bull. So, hereon out, I am merely updating "my story about the fire." And if you want to reference it, refer to it as that. Because, though this rule TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY SUCKS ASS, I don't want to get in trouble, nor anyone else get in trouble. So, yea. On with chapter 5.

Chapter 5

Officer Leah took me back to Jesse's apartment. It was now a little after 3, and I felt horrible about keeping Jesse up, when he had class early this morning.

When we went into the apartment, I saw Jesse, still in his pajamas, drinking a cup of coffee and looking very tired, indeed.

"This is Jesse, Officer," I said, and went to go sit down next to him. "I'm sorry you had to be brought into this." I took his hand, and he gave me a small—if not exhausted—smile.

"It's fine, _Querida_. I want to help. However, I'm not sure how much help I can provide."

"What is your full name?"

"Hector de Silva," he responded.

"Where were you last night between the times of 8:45 and midnight, last night?"

"Well, I was here, at my apartment, for a while… but then Susannah's friends came over, and I gave them some privacy for a while and took a walk to the park. This was between about 8:30 and 10:20, maybe?"

"Where did you go?"

"To the park. I bought a coffee, then went and sat in the park and read for while." Oh, and got a random guy to realize he wasn't supposed to still be here, as he was dead. But I understood why Jesse didn't allow Officer Leah to be privy to that information.

"Did you see any suspicious individuals or cars in the immediate area around this building or the alleyway where Mara Lowell's car was parked?" Jesse shook his head.

"No, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. Besides, it's very difficult to remember which cars drive by my building. Hundreds pass it a day." Officer Leah nodded.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. de Silva, Ms. Simon. We'll call you if we need to speak to you again." She stood up and left. I got out of my chair too, and pulled Jesse to his feet.

"C'mon. Let's go to bed." Jesse wrapped his arm around my waist, and led us to the bedroom.

…………………………..

Several hours later, my alarm went off. It was nine a.m. and the other half of the bed was empty. Jesse had already left for class. I had to be at work in an hour and a half, so I crawled out of bed—unfortunately—and took a quick shower, before changing into the required black pants and white button down shirt. I worked at a local upscale restaurant, which hosted a lot of business meetings. My shift on Fridays was 10:30 to 7, which got quite a few business meetings—which leads to quite a few tips. Not as much as I did back at Pebble Beach, but I was surviving, much thanks to the money I had saved up, working summers there before I moved into my apartment at the start of my junior year, almost four months ago. My phone rang as I was leaving the building, and I pulled it out of my bag and flipped it open.

"Hey, Suze, it's Angela."

"Hey. Did you hear about Mara?"

"Yea, Cate just called me. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the hospital to visit her with me."

"I wish I could, but I can't. I'm on my way to work right now. What time can I go visit?"

"Cate said it's until 6:30 tonight." I swore.

"I'm working until seven. Listen, tell her that I'm sorry I couldn't come by today, but that I'll call her tonight?" Angela agreed, and hung up.

I got to work five minutes early, and checked in with my boss. For the next several hours, I enjoyed keeping my mind off the problem at hand. However, by about 2:30, business had slowed. It was the end of the lunch rush, and I was on my break. I sat down with a glass of water and a small salad, but didn't eat it. Instead, I found myself staring off into space, wondering what the hell was happening. Try as I might, the fact that one of my friends was murdered and someone tried to kill another one of my friends was seeming less and less like a coincidence, and the reasoning I'd been telling myself for the past 15 hours was making less and less sense.

Something about what I've been thinking must have shown on my face, since I heard the chair next to me pull out, and heard a familiar voice.

"Well, look who it is." I jumped out of my catatonic state, and found Paul sitting next to me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I came for a meeting with one of my professors. He wanted to discuss a case that I will be helping him with." It figures. Paul was, of course, the star law student. "So, what's the matter? You seem gone." Paul, while still not my best friend, had gotten much better, toward the end of our junior year. I think that would be because he finally got over me, and started going out seriously with a girl from RLS. They've since broken up, but an e-mail from him from a few weeks ago said that he's begun seeing a fellow law student.

I raised my eyebrows. "You really want to know it all?" I asked. He smirked.

"I've got time. I don't have any classes today." I sighed.

"I am, technically, homeless. My best friend was recently murdered. Another good friend of mine was hit by a car last night. Attempted murder. Hit and run." His eyes widened, and he whistled.

"Eventful past few weeks?"

"You could say that."

"Suspects?" I shook my head. His cell phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call. I took a bite of my salad, and my co-worker, Sazz, called to me.

"10 minutes, Suze." I nodded, and Paul returned.

"Sorry, Suze, I've got to go. My girlfriend Anna needs some help with a case… listen, let me know if anything happens, alright? I want to help."

"Thanks, Paul. See you around." He left, and I finished up my salad, and got back to work.

………………………………………………….

At five of seven, Sazz came over to be in the kitchen, where I was finishing up my final order's bill.

"Hey, Suze, Jesse's here." I looked up.

"Where?"

"Talking to Mary Jean." MJ was hosting that night, and she was in one of Jesse's classes. I think she was a lab partner their freshman year. "He said he's here to pick you up." I smiled. Jesse always found ways to surprise me, to cheer me up.

"Can you let him know that I'll be ready in about 3 minutes? I just need to take this to table 19." She nodded, and disappeared towards the lobby area. I finished up with the last order, I checked out with my boss, and went to meet Jesse in the lobby. I saw a few women waiting for a table checking him out subtly, but as soon as he saw me, it was like there were no others in the room. His eyes lit up, and he gave me a slow, unbelievably hot smile. I returned the smile. I gave him a kiss, and he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as we left. I noticed the women had slightly disappointed looks on their faces, so I snuggled against him closer.

"Just wanted to see you." We left the restaurant, and continued walking down the street, my head on his shoulder and his arm around my waist and holding my hip.

Suddenly, I heard a scream around the corner. Angela came running out of an alley. Her shirt was torn, and she had a cut on her cheek. There was what appeared to be a growing bump on the side of her head, and came running directly into me. Jesse stopped me from being completely bowled over by her, and quickly grabbed Angela's shoulders.

"Angela! What happened? Are you alright?"

"S-someone pulled me into t-the alleyway and att-attack-cked me," she stuttered. "He s-s-slammed me against th-the wall and h-he had-d-d a knife." I pulled a tissue from my purse, and pressed it against the cut on her cheek. We walked her gently over to a bench, and sat her down. Jesse took over taking care of her bleeding, and I pulled out my cell phone, and called 911.

About ten minutes later, an ambulance pulled up, but Angela wasn't in such bad shape. Jesse had gotten the gash on her face to stop bleeding, but she did still have a huge bump on her head—what I assumed was from when her attacker slammed her against the wall. Jesse had determined that she didn't have a concussion, so she didn't have to be taken to the hospital. The EMTs took care of her, then a police officer arrived to ask questions. After Jesse and I told them what happened, they excused us. I told Angela that I would call her later, then, shaking, Jesse walked me back to his apartment.

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Sorry for the slight delay in updating, I've been really busy. Anyway. Review.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As soon as we got back into his apartment, I burst into tears. Jesse set me down on the couch, and held me while I sobbed on his shoulder.

"Krystal, Mara, now Angela… why is someone trying to kill off all my friends?" He didn't say anything, only continued stroking my back. What _could_ he say? "What if I'm next?"

"Querida, I won't anyone hurt you," he said, and kissed my nose softly. I continued crying until I didn't have any more energy to. At about this time, Jesse untangled himself from me, went to the kitchen, and made me hot chocolate. I drank it gratefully, and by the time I was finished I was feeling better. I snuggled next to him on the couch. A few moments later, he spoke. "Your birthday's on Sunday." I was turning 22. "I'm taking you out to dinner." I smiled.

"That sounds great, Jesse. Where to?" He smiled slyly.

"Not telling." I rolled my eyes at him, good naturedly. By this time, it was about quarter to ten. We watched some TV until a little after eleven, then he pulled me to my feet and walked me to our room.

………………………………..

The next morning, I was out of the building by 9:30 for class at quarter to ten. I grabbed a coffee on the way, then settled into my seat next to Cate.

"How's Mara?" I asked.

"Good. She should be out by the end of next week." I sighed with relief. Class started, but I noticed the seat in front of me was empty.

"Where's Aaron? He never misses a day of class." Aaron was sort of my friend. We talked occasionally. We used to be closer, back in our freshman year. But he was one of those guys who dates every single girl in the group of friends (Krystal, Cate, Mara, Beth, and Lisa all went out with him.) Never me or Angela. Myself, because I was taken. And he never really liked Angela that much. He had, however, gotten serious with a girl who used to live on my floor, when I lived in a dorm. Her name was Lily.

"You didn't hear? Lily died yesterday afternoon. She was in a car crash… her brakes failed." Our professor cleared her throat.

"Listen, everyone. I am sure you've all heard about our loss." Lily was Professor Bartlett's favorite student. "For this reason, class will be cancelled for the day." I noticed that her eyes were red.

We all filed out of class soberly. Despite the sad reason, I took advantage of my free morning to go visit Mara.

…………………………………………………………………..

"Mara!" I cried, walking into her room. Cate followed along behind me. "How are you feeling?"

"Eh. Better, I guess. I don't really remember how I felt until yesterday evening, when all the morphine they pumped into me wore off." Her boyfriend, Luke, came in, with a can of coke and a bottle of water.

"Hey, Luke," I said, and he gave me a smile.

"Hey, Suze, Cate, what's up?" He handed the bottle to Mara, who carefully raised her right arm, wincing slightly. Most of her injuries were on her left side, since that was where the car struck her, but still, broken ribs are hard to deal with. Luke took it back from her, and held it so she didn't have to hurt herself. She smiled in thanks, and drank.

We hung out for a while, with a little bit of nervous tension between us. Mara had heard about Angela's attack, and we all were making the same conclusions, and those conclusions were freaking us out.

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I know, I know, I know. This chapter is short. And, I'm sorry, but I won't be updating probably for another week, at least. I'm leaving on vacation in a little while (hence the short chapter) and I am not sure if I will have computer access. I will, rest assured, write in the car, so hopefully I can get a chapter up soon after I get back.

Anyway, review lots. Make me happy.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, all. I got back on Sunday from my little vacation. I actually had this chapter all written, but I've been lazy. Anyway, please, please, please review -) Thanks!

Chapter 7

On Saturday night, after work, my friends took me out for my birthday. Unfortunately, Mara couldn't come, but we did stop by the hospital until visting hours ended, then we went to a bar and restaurant a few blocks from Lisa's apartment.

It was a but subdued compared to other birthday celebrations before it had all started. Krystal was gone, Mara was in the hospital, and Angela had a bandage on her face. We were all feeling the nervous tension that had caused my breakdown the other night. However, Cee Cee was in Carmel for her winter break already. And came into the city. Everyone else sort of knew her, but, of course, she lived at college most of the time, so they weren't totally buddy-buddy with her. I had filled her in on what was going on, and she was as concerned and baffled as the rest of us.

Lisa was in the middle of a funny story about her boss when she suddenly trailed off and looked above my head.

"Suze, my goodness, twice in three days." I turned around, and there was Paul. Lisa regained her composure quickly.

"Hello. Suze, who is this?" she asked flirtatiously. I had to hold back a laugh.

"Everyone, this is Paul. Paul, this is everyone."

"Hey, Paul," Cee said. She had warmed up to him a bit in the past few years, but still wasn't exactly his best friend.

"Cee! You're back from the Windy City! You passed the Geiger test to get back here?" He asked brightly, and she rolled her eyes.

"Radiation free, thank you very much." (a/n: _Whoever guesses where Cee Cee is going to college winds a walk on roll in the story. Hint: My sister goes here._)

"Paul is a friend from high school," I explained. "Are you here with… what's her name?" Paul shook his head, and pulled a chair over to the table.

"What's-her-name decided that dating a fellow lawyer could be detrimental to her career, and that, should we find ourselves in opposing cases, emotions could interfere with her job." He paused. "She's just afraid of losing a case to me, is all," he winked, but I did sense a bit of pain underneath his façade. "Jesse told me you'd be here, and gave me permission to hunt you down, since you shut off your cell phone."

"He did?" Beth asked. They all knew Jesse was big on giving us our privacy.

"Yes." He leaned in. "An arrest as been made in the murders of Krystal Matthews and Lily Burnham, and attempted murders of Mara Lowell and Angela Murphey." I choked on the sip of my Cosmo that I had just taken.

"What! Who!"

"Aaron Metzler."

"How do you know?" Angela asked, looking almost panicky. Well, she had had a crush on him once upon a time. Kind of a shock, finding out the guy you lusted after may have tried to kill you, not to mention some of your friends. Her voice rose with anger and jealousy. "Why didn't anyone tell _me_?"

Paul raised his eyebrows. "Is your cell phone on?" She blushed, and reached into her bag and pulled it out. It was off. "His lawyer is one of my professors. Professor Rosenberg called me to help with interviewing and deposing witnesses, etc." I gaped at Paul. "But I asked him to leave me out of this one." I took on of my French fries. "Conflict of interests, you know? I'd feel like shit, defending the guy on trial for killing the best friend of my friend."

"Thanks, Paul," I said gratefully. The rest of them nodded.

"On another topic, my PDA says tomorrow is your birthday." I nodded.

"Twenty-two," I said with fake entusiasm. "You know, until you turn 2, there's always something to look forward to on your birthdays. Driving at 16, rated R movies at 17, being able to buy lottery tickets—and cigarettes, if you're into premature wrinkling and lung cancer—at 18, drinking at 21. Now there's nothing."

"Don't get yourself down. Only 28 years until you get your AARP card. Think of all that comes with—discounts galore at restaurants and car washes. Start the countdown today." I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"Well, ladies, I must be going. Happy 22nd, Suze. Nice to meet you all, and it was good to see you, Cee Cee." He got up, and left.

"Suze, elaborate. Who the hell is he?" Lisa asked immediately.

"Hey, down, girl," I laughed. "What about Drew?" Drew was her boyfriend of about 3 months.

"Just curious," she said innocently. I rolled my eyes.

"I met Paul when I was 16. He was staying at the hotel that I was working at."

"Ooh, like a reversed 'Dirty Dancing,'" Cate said. "Did you, like, teach him to dance? And sleep with him?"

"No!" I exclaimed, scandalized. Not that he didn't try. "I had already met Jesse."

"Damn. How long have you known Jesse?" I thought back.

"8 years, just about. We've been dating for a little more than seven, though."

"And you _still_ haven't slept with him?" Beth asked incredulously. I blushed.

"Jesse, as you know, is old fashioned. He has old world manners," I said. But I didn't say _where_ he got those manners. Saying that my boyfriend grew up in the 1800's wouldn't do much for my rep. I mean, ew, Anna Nicole much?

"That's sweet," Lisa said. "Having a guy who doesn't only want to get in your pants."

"Please, like Ethan doesn't totally adore you," Cate said, rolling her eyes. "He's awesome."

"And so is Ryan!" She refuted. Cee rolled her eyes.

"Okay. We ALL have awesome, loving boyfriends. Not stop fighting," she said. Angela glared at her.

"_I_ don't," she said, nearly growling at her, fire in her eyes. Cee cee looked taken aback.

"Angela. Chill. It's not Cee Cee's fault you don't have a boyfriend," Beth said, in a way that only sisters can get away with. "If you really want to get one, stop moping and get out there." Silence. Angela looked ready to spit tacks. Thankfully, the waitress came up to clean our plates. After that distraction, the tension lessened.

"Present time!" Cate suddenly exclaimed, and produced a wrapped box. I grinned.

"Thanks, Cate." I unwrapped it, and pulled off the lid. Inside was something made of a creamy white silk. "Ooh," I cooed. I pulled it out further, and found it was a night gown. "It's beautiful. Thanks, Cate."

I unwrapped the rest of the presents. Lisa got me a totally cute pair of pumps (I've since forgiven Mr. Choo, and all cute-but-uncomfortable shoes in general), and from Cee Cee I got an old, big book filled with stuff about ghosts—how to deal with a pesky poltergeist, etc. I gave her a withering look, and she grinned. The rest of my friends just looked perplexed. Angela and Beth went together and got me a gift certificate to my favorite store.

At ten, I arrived back at Jesse's apartment. He was just closing up his text book when I came into the living room. "Hey, Querida. Did Paul find you?" he asked. I crawled next to him on the couch, and snuggled up against him. He put his arm around my shoulders.

"Yes. Thanks for sending him over," I said, and kissed him lightly. "That news was the best birthday present ever." He squeezed me gently.

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Okay, guys. Now, review!


	8. Chapter 8

Hey, all. I waited a little bit to update, to allow anymore answers to the quiz question come in. Unfortunately, no one answered correctly…some got the city correct, but I'm looking for an exact college. I'll leave it open for this chapter too, if any of you have another guess! Here's the clue:

"_Cee! You're back from the Windy City! You passed the Geiger test to get back here?" He asked brightly, and she rolled her eyes. "Radiation free, thank you very much." _

So, if you have an idea, guess! The prize is a walk-on role! Here are some reviewer responses:

Tim Lin—No. I just like the name Mara, lol. Thanks!

Kittykatangel518—my name means, "who remains silent consents." I'm thinking about getting it tattooed somewhere on my body. That would be awesome, wouldn't it? And a bit more intellectual than "MOM" or "CHARLENE LOVES BILLY BOB." And thanks for your compliments! Oh, and no, they haven't slept together. Though I have made subtle inferences that they have come close. Wink, wink, nudge nudge.

And thanks to Banana Princess, michelle, LordLanceahlot, beebee17, nikki007, Tim Lin, Ikinder, kittykatangel518, moovalous3, UnangelicHalo, Angel From Fairyland, and Sunchaser for reviewing last chapter! Keep it up!

Finally, on to chapter 8.

Chapter 8

I woke up the next morning, curled up against Jesse. I started to move—I had work, unfortunately. And on my birthday too! Damn manager.—and I felt Jesse's arm coil around my waist. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…" he sang softly, in a groggy voice. We were both tired—we had, er, been up sort of late last night. No, we didn't have sex. But there is some things between kissing and sex. Cough.

I grinned and leaned over, and kissed him gently on the lips. "Go back to bed," I whispered. I had the breakfast shift, and it was 6:30. I crawled out of bed, pulled on a black skirt, black pumps, and a white blouse, did my hair and make up, and gave Jesse one last kiss before running out the door.

I checked in, and saw Sazz at the bar.

"Hey, Simon! Happy Birthday!" I grinned, waved in acknowledgement, then got to work.

Several hours later, after breakfast and the beginning of lunch, I got a break. Sazz and I were hanging out outside the restaurant, herself with a cigarette (_a/n: Sazzy! You bad girl! Smoking! At your young age! Tsk tsk._) and myself with a bottle of water. I felt my hip buzz, and I pulled out my cell phone.

"Hey, Lisa, whats up?" I asked, seeing the caller ID.

"GoddammitAaronpaidbailandisoutofprison." Wow. Now I know how Jesse feels half the time.

"What?"

"Aaron is out of jail. His parents paid the bail, and now he's free again."

"_WHAT?_"

"I know! Mara's mother called me this morning in a fury when she found out. I mean, I know it's legal and everything, BUT THIS GUY KILLED OUR BEST FRIEND!"

"I know. Dammit." I leaned against the wall and slid to the ground.

"Listen, I have to call Beth and let her know. I'll talk to you later, okay? And happy birthday." I closed the phone, and banged my head gently against the brick.

"Suze? What's up?" Sazz dropped her cigarette, and ground it into the pavement with her heel.

"The guy who was arrested for murdering my best friend paid bail and is out of prison," I groaned.

"Hey, listen. That doesn't mean that he's off scott-free. He's just going home for a little while. He'll still go to trial, and he'll still get convicted and he'll still rot in prison, okay?" I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Yeah. You're right. I just got mad for a second." She offered me her hand, and pulled me up.

"Come on, break's up. Let's get back to work."

…………………………………………….

At 5:30, I got home. I had gotten off work a little bit earlier, but had gone to the hospital to talk to Mara. She was upset too, but I conveyed Sazz's words of wisdom to her, and she and her mother both calmed down, just as I had.

I saw a note on the door to the bedroom, in Jesse's pristine old-fashioned script. "Querida, I've gone out for the afternoon. I'll be back by 7, and we'll go out then. Love, Jesse." Realizing I only had an hour and a half to get beautiful for my darling Jesse, I quickly jumped into the shower to wash off the eau de filet mingon from the restaurant. I reminded myself to shave my legs, and moisturized and blow dried my hair. Finally, after an hour, I felt ready to get dressed.

I had bought a Betsey Johnson dress at an outlet about a month ago, but hadn't found anywhere to wear it to. It was a beautiful burgundy crocheted lace over a pink silk slip underneath, with a ribbon around the waist. By amazing luck and karma (they had to give me something back after these horrible past few weeks), the shoes that Lisa got me matched the dress perfectly.

At 7 on the dot, I put the last finishing touches on my appearance, and I heard the door open. Jesse came into the living room. He was dressed already, in a classic sports jacket and dress shirt and pants. I see that I didn't overdress, which was one of my concerns when deciding what to wear. He never did say where we were going.

I grinned and walked up to him, wrapping my arms around his neck, and his went around my waist. I kissed him, and we remained that way for several minutes.

"Hello, Birthday girl. Are you ready to go eat?" He asked, his breathing slightly ragged. I nodded, and he wrapped his arm around me and led me out the door.

…………………………..

We arrived at Milano's, a small, cozy family-owned Italian restaurant that not a lot of people know about. Jesse and I went here on our 5th anniversary, so it had good memories of Jesse and me together.

We dined happily, talking about our day. Jesse seemed a little bit distracted, but I put it in the back of my mind. After our waitress took away our plates and we ordered our desserts, Jesse reached across the table—avoiding the candles, of course, and took my hands in his.

"Susannah, I love you so much." I squeezed his fingertips.

"I love you too, Jesse," I replied, smiling. Jesse let go of my fingers. He suddenly looked nervous. He reached into his pocket and produced a small velvet box. I think my heart stopped.

He slid from his chair and knelt beside me, and opened the box. Inside was a simple silver band, with one diamond in the center and two blue topazes, my birthstones, on the side. "Querida, will you marry me?"

"Yes! Oh my God, yes!" I said happily. He slipped it on, and I pulled him up and kissed him passionately. One of the waiters must have witnessed it, as we were soon presented with a bottle of the restaurant's finest wine. We didn't really pay attention to it, since we were cuddling and kissing each other throughout dessert. (_a/n: so cliché, is it not? The whole engagement? I couldn't resist, though. I'm a romantic at heart.)_

By ten o'clockish, we arrived back at the apartment. I changed out of my dress, and into the new nightgown that Cate had gotten me. It fit amazingly (the good karma just keeps coming.). I turned to look in the mirror, and…

Whoa.

This thing _fit_. I was smokin' if I do say so myself. The shade of cream made my skin look tan, and something about it must have had the slightest purple undertones or something, because the green in my eyes popped. It clung to my every curve, and somehow just made me look absolutely amazing. Giselle times a billion.

Jesse was about to climb in bed when I came into the bedroom. He looked at me, his eyes bugged slightly, and he gulped. Not a bad reaction. I smiled slowly and walked towards him, all sultry-like. He immediately stood back up, and took a deep breath.

"Actually, I think I left my book in the living room… I'll just go get it…" he tried to hurry past me, in an obvious attempt to escape temptation, being the good little Catholic boy that he is. I grabbed his wrist as he came closer to me, and stopped him. Something came over me, and I stepped closed, and pressed myself against him. My hands roamed along his bare back, shoulders, and chest, my fingertips drawing imaginary shapes with a feather tough. My foot slid up and down his leg—he was wearing only shorts. His face came down against my neck. "Why do you do this to me?" he asked in a deep, throaty whisper.

"Do what?" I asked, in an equally husky voice, even though, considering how close I was pressed against him, I had an idea.

"Drive me crazy." He started kissing my shoulders, up my neck, along my jaw line, until he met my lips. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, as did he, and we kissed deeply and passionately. We stumbled back, and fell against the bed. I crawled up so my head was at the pillows, and he followed me, his lips on my face the entire time.

He settled himself on top of me. My leg instinctively bent and curled around his leg. His hand slid down my leg, underneath the soft silk. Thank God I remembered to shave, I thought as I arched my back against him.

He had begun to slip the silk pajamas off, when the phone rang, shrilly, incessantly, and destroying the mood. Jesse said something in Spanish, I groaned, and reached over and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Susie! Hi, it's mom!" I covered the mouthpiece.

"It's my mom," I whispered to Jesse, who, despite the interruption, was still inching his fingers up my waist. My complete bottom half was exposed, as the hem was up now at my belly button, and he was admiring my pink panties.

"Tell her you can't talk." He replied.

"Yea, that'll go over well. 'Sorry, mom, can't talk, Jesse wants to finish undressing me'" I hissed.

"What was that, Susie?"

"Nothing, just… talking to Jesse."

"Well, I'm sorry to call so late, and I hope I didn't wake you up—" no, you just interrupted POSSIBLE DEVIRGINIZATION—"But Lola just went into labor!" When I gasped, it wasn't just because of this news, but also because, well, Jesse's hands had just found my chest.

"Can you come to the hospital? She's at St. Marina's." I slowly eased Jesse's hands out from underneath my nightgown, and pulled it down.

"Yea, I guess… I'll be down in about half an hour, okay?" I hung up, and groaned. Jesse looked mildly put out that we'd had to stop.

"Lola went into labor, and my mom wants me to come." I pulled jeans on underneath the short silk slip. It looked alright, and the silk was too soft to give up quite yet.

"Do you want me to come?" Jesse asked, getting up.

"If you want," I said. "But do you have class tomorrow?"

"Not until noon. Besides…" he reached for my left hand, and held it up so the ring sparkled and drew our attention, "we need to tell your family."

…………………………………………………………………

A/n: Okay. Hope you all enjoyed. Now, please, review! Also, if you have any idea of who the murderer is, I'd like to know. And explain why you think that. I'm just curious to see if any of you are on the right track!

Thanks! And don't forget to send me nice, long reviews!


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, sorry if you all got 2 author alert notices. I uploaded the wrong version of the chapter. But this is right :-) And as for the trivia question...

YAY! DancinSweetheart got it RIGHT!

The answer is…… drum roll…..

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO!

During World War II, a small lab near the football field was the place of the first controlled atomic reaction, the first step towards the atomic bomb.

The whole Geiger counter thing was in reference to the rumor that there is still radiation hanging around. Geiger counters measure radiation.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your history lesson. Now, on to chapter nine.

Chapter Nine

Jesse and I arrived at the hospital maternity ward within the next 45 minutes. I was still in my nightgown, over a pair of jeans, but Jesse pulled a pair of pants and a shirt over the shorts he was wearing.

My mom saw is, and waved us over. "Looks like we might have another December 3rd baby in the family," my mom greeted. I gave her a hug. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks, Mom, but there is only about an hour left of today. It could very well be December 4th."

David and Brad came around the corner, with Cokes in their hands. Brad grunted in greeting, and collapsed in the chair. David waved. I guess Mom rounded up all of us kids.

"Jake is in there with Lola. Andy went to call her parents, since she didn't get a chance. She went into labor so quickly!" I sat down on one of the chairs, and Jesse sat down next to me. Andy came back, and went to talk to my mom. Jesse wrapped his arm around my shoulder and took my hand in his. He leaned in and whispered in my ear.

"Do you think we should wait to tell your mother and stepfather?" He asked. I began to nod, thinking that it was best that we wait. I didn't want to steal Jake and Lola's thunder, after all. However, this desire was in vain, as suddenly my mother shrieked and swooped down upon us like a raptor.

"Susie! Jesse! Is there anything you need to tell me?" She asked forcefully, but in an excited way. She eyed my hand, which was wrapped around Jesse's, and the diamond that was glittering on a very important finger.

"Um… we're getting married?" I said nervously. She ripped me from Jesse's arms and squeezed me so tightly, that I couldn't breathe.

"Oh, Susie, I'm so happy for you!" She finally relinquished me, only to do the same to Jesse.

She only let us alone when Jake came out, with the biggest grin I'd ever seen on his face. "They're girls!" He proclaimed happily. That, at least, took the spotlight away from Jesse and I for a little while. There were only 3 people allowed in the room at the time, so Andy and Mom went in first—and Jake, of course. While waiting our turn, Jesse and I sat back down, and I curled up against him, bending my legs over his. I could tell he was still a little mad at my mom for interrupting us. I guess that now that we were officially engaged, he wasn't so afraid of crossing such borders.

"Well, I guess that went well," he joked, kissing me on the cheek. "At least she was happy. I was a little nervous that they would disapprove." I scoffed.

"Jesse, my mom almost loves you more than I do. And that's saying something." He gave me a half smile, and kissed me again, this time on the lips. Even though it was very light and innocent, Brad immediately felt the need to erupt with disgust.

"Ew, guys, _stop_. I don't want to see _that._" Jesse bit back a sigh. While he was always very polite, I knew he disliked Brad. A lot. I rolled my eyes at Jesse, and let my head rest on his shoulder. His hand was loosely around my waist, and I was very comfortable like that.

About ten minutes later, my mom and Andy came out, and said that Lola wanted to see me. Lola was a year older than me, and we're fairly close. She was a surfer too, and that's how she and Jake met.

Jesse came in with me. She was on the bed, with two tiny red, wrinkly babies wrapped in pink blankets. They appeared to be asleep. Lola's black dreadlocks were damp, and her tan skin was slightly pale. Lola was very pretty, in an unusual sort of way. Her mother was Hispanic and Indian, her father half African-American, half Irish. Jake put his finger to his lips, and shushed us.

"Her name is Jessahca," she whispered, "And her name is Elena."

"They're beautiful," Jesse said. Lola smiled.

"I hear we're not the only ones to have big news today," Jake said. Ever since he met Lola, he's grown up a lot more. I no longer suspect that he does drugs (though actually, I found out, he did. Typical surfer-stoner.), and he really seems to care about Lola.

I blushed, and smiled slightly. "Mom tell you?"

"She could barely contain herself. Grandkids and a future son-in-law on the same day? I'm surprised she hasn't fainted from excitement."

"Congratulations," Lola said. We talked for a few more minutes, until Jesse tugged on my arm and leaned in slightly.

"Susannah, should we let your brothers in now?" I nodded.

"Well, guys, we're going to get home… Brad and David still need to visit!"

"Thanks for coming, guys. It means a lot to us," Lola said. I gave her an awkward hug around Jess and Elena.

"Congratulations," Jesse said with a smile. He took my hand, and led me out.

My mom and Andy were still hanging out in the hallway, talking to a small nun. This was odd. As we approached, she looked vaguely familiar. I went to go say goodbye, but my mom grabbed my arm and took me and Jesse aside.

"Susannah, this is Lola's Aunt Ikinder. Her building had a fire a few weeks ago—perhaps she lived in your building?—and hasn't had anywhere really to go since. Do you think she can stay with you? Just for a week or so. She really doesn't have anywhere else to go."

I looked over at Sister Ikinder, and realized that she did live in my building. I didn't know her well, she was never very nice to me whenever Jesse came over. She would give me dirty looks if she saw me walk him out. "Uh, Mom, let's remember that I'm actually a house guest at the present time?" My mom suddenly put on a face of apology.

"That's right, I'm sorry. I completely forgot!"

"It's fine, Mrs. Ackerman. She's welcome at my place," Jesse offered kindly. I looked at him, and he looked back at me. I tried to send him a message: _Do you really want to be living with a nun, considering what we were just doing a few hours earlier?_ I don't know about him, but I do want to have sex. Well, actually, I do know about him. Judging by the way he responded to me, he wanted to have sex just as much as I did.

"Oh, Jesse, really? Thank you so much!" My mom gushed. She waved Sister Ikinder over. "This nice man said he will let you stay with him!"

She sized him up. "Lovely." She looked at him further, with a scrutinizing eye. "Do I know you? You look familiar." She didn't stop to let him answer. "You have a couch, correct? My back isn't good, and can't be sleeping on the floor." Jesse looked slightly taken aback.

"Yes, I have a couch…" He began, but seemed unsure as to where to go from there.

"Good. I would like to visit my niece, then we can leave." She marched into the hospital room.

"Jesse, are you sure you want this?" I asked him. He sighed.

"She is a nun at my church. I felt obligated. Not to mention, she's almost family to you now."

"Jesse, she's the lady who always told you that she'd pray for your lost and sinful soul whenever she saw you leaving my apartment."

"I know, Querida. But it's only for a week."

"But, Jesse… are you sure you will want someone there to… interrupt us?" I leaned in to him and kissed him lightly along his neck. He sighed again, in a slightly different way than he had before, though. He placed his hands on my face and pulled me away.

"It's only for a week," he said, and kissed me softly on the lips. I rolled my eyes, but gave in.

An hour later, Jesse was showing the apartment to Sister Ikinder. He pulled out the sofa bed, showed her where the bathroom was, and all that jazz. She hadn't acknowledged me all night, but when I said, "Jesse, I'm going to bed. I have class tomorrow morning, so don't worry about it if I'm not there when you wake up." I was a bit peeved with him—Sister Ikinder was totally cramping the mood between us—but I leaned in and kissed him. On the cheek, but whatever.

I started towards his bedroom, and she called after me.

"Wait. Who are you?" I sighed.

"I'm Jesse's fiancé." As irked as I was with him, I _love_ that word. "I live here." She wrinkled her nose.

"You live with him and are not yet married?"

"_Engaged_, Sister." I wiggled my fingers in the air, showing her my ring. "Besides, I was on my own before someone torched my apartment building and killed my friend." What? I was in a bad mood. It was my birthday—well, it was yesterday. It is after midnight—and Jesse and I couldn't continue what we were doing before we were so rudely interrupted by my mother and Lola going into labor. She looked puzzled.

"Was your building on James Street?" I nodded, exasperated.

"You lived two floors up from me. I was the one you always gave Bibles." Her look of confusion disappeared.

"Yes. I remember you." She wrinkled her nose. "_You_ are engaged to this fine boy?" Why, the nerve of her! I opened my mouth, but Jesse grabbed my arm.

"Susannah. Relax. I will talk to her." I scowled, turned on my heel, stomped into the bedroom and slammed the door. I heard him sigh, then keep talking to Sister Ikinder. "Don't worry about her. I'll talk to her." Angrier than ever, I huffily climbed into bed and threw the covers over my head.

………………………………………………………

The next day, my classmate, Sarah, and I were working on a project at the library. I had feigned sleep last night, and didn't respond to Jesse's gentle "Susannah" he had tried to prod me with. I don't know what was the matter with me, but I was just in a bad mood last night (_a/n: boy, do I know what she's talking about. I always just get pissed off for no reason and end up not speaking to my friends, and they're completely clueless as to why._) and was upset that Jesse was totally siding with Sister Ikie. I mean, who was the fiancé, and who was the virtual stranger who insulted said fiancé?

"So, did you find it yet?" I asked. We were breezing through encyclopedias, looking for information on social anxiety disorder, for psych class.

"No… it's not in this book either. How about…" she suddenly trailed off, looking over my shoulder. "Day-um. Who's _that_?" She quickly ran her fingers through her hair, checked her face on the mirror on the wall, and quickly re-adjusted her shirt to be more, er, well, you know. "I am totally asking him out." I figured it was just that new transfer. I already heard Cate talking about him earlier. But when I heard a familiar voice, I realized I was wrong.

"Susannah…" Jesse said softly and carefully. He knew I was mad. Good. Sarah looked jealous that he was talking to me. I started to smirk, but stopped. I was mad. Right. Can't look like I'm enjoying myself _at all_.

"Hello, Jesse," I said, with an edge of curtness in my voice. He sighed.

"Susannah, I know you're mad…" he trailed off, and I didn't say anything.

"Sorry, but… who are you?" Sarah butted in. Not a lot of tact, that one.

"I'm Susannah's…fiancé." He paused and looked at me before saying the word, as if he wanted to make sure it was still true. I softened at his sad tone. That, and Sarah's sudden shade of purple. Some girls may get jealous when other people hit on their boyfriend, but I found it amusing. "Susannah, I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have been so accommodating of Sister Ikinder. I know she was rude to you, and I didn't do anything." Okay. My cold exterior melted like butter left out on a hot day. I reached over and took his hand.

"I know. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been so rude to her." Sarah finally took note that this was a Big Moment Between Us, and awkwardly made her exit.

"Uh, I'll be back…" she said, and stood up and disappeared among the shelves. Jesse sat down in the chair next to me, and pulled it over closer.

"I love you. I'm sorry," he whispered in my ear, then kissed it lightly. I kissed him again on the lips, which he returned until someone from a nearby table cleared their throat loudly. Jesse pulled away, and tucked my hair behind my ear. "When you're done here, come back to the apartment… Sister Ikinder left for the day, she said she'll be back around 8 tonight." I nodded, kissed him once more, quickly, and he stood up and left.

………………………………………………………………….

Okay. Not a whole lot happened here, as far as the whole murder-thing, but this was the first real fight Suze and Jesse had. And considering it wasn't that huge, that just goes to show how their relationship is. Anyway. More will happen next chapter.

PS- Sarah (DancinSweetheart), hope you liked your cameo ;-) I know you like Paul, but, well, whatever. Jesse is pretty hot too. If you're lucky, maybe Paul will walk in on another one of yours and Suze's study sessions. Cough.

Okay, guys, now, long reviews! There might be something in there for you…


	10. Chapter 10

Hey all. Just a few quick notes.

Sunshine—Haha. I know what you mean. My friend Courtney once met a girl with the same name, only spelled Quartknee. It's like, "Think their mom was a bit too hopped up on those pain medications when they named the baby?" But I personally like the "h" in Jessahca. Besides, baby Jess and Elena are named after two of my friends from MCBC (as well as several other characters in this story… find them all, win a prize!). Plus my alter-ego spells her name "Jessahca." She demanded to be part of the story, as did the other Jess. Kill two birds with one stone, you know?

Moovalous—you must have missed the sentence saying that she was Lola's aunt. That's why she was at the hospital.

Chapter Ten

Sarah and I worked for another hour or so after Jesse left. At one point, my cell phone rang.

"Hey, Beth."

"Hey Suze. Listen, are you doing something right now?" Her voice sounded weird.

"Right now, yea. What's up?"

"Listen, can you come by sometime today? I… need to tell you something," She said.

"Sure. Listen, cell phones aren't allowed in the library, so I'll talk to you later, okay?" She said goodbye, and I hung up.

After finishing the work with Sarah, I got back to the apartment. Jesse was there, studying, as usual, but when he heard me he put his books down.

He came right up to me and kissed me, lovingly. He pulled me onto the couch, and we continued to kiss, until Jesse eventually relinquished my—slightly swollen—lips.

He took my hand, and held it so that my ring was visible. "Susannah, when do you want to get married?" I thought.

"May or June. I've always wanted a late spring wedding." Jesse nodded.

"Whatever you want, _Querida._" We went over some preliminary wedding plans—big, or small? At the Mission, on the beach, where? Who to invite? That sort of thing. We decided on a small wedding, with Father Dominic presiding, of course.

Neither Jesse nor I had had lunch yet, even though it was nearly 2:30, so he offered to cook. As Andy was not blood family, his amazing cooking genes were not passed down to me. I wasn't terrible…but Jesse was so much better. He did like my lasagna and fettuccini alfredo, though. The joys of Italian food.

After he made some cheeseburgers (he, of course, couldn't stand factory processed American cheese slices. Typical of him, since he did grow up with all home-grown food and all. He puts blue cheese on his cheeseburger. (_a/n: my parents do this._) I tried a piece once, and it wasn't bad, but still. Pass the Kraft Singles, please) we curled up on the couch together, and put in a movie…though we didn't exactly watch too much of it. We were just so glad not to be fighting anymore, and I was very glad to be graced with Jesse's _amazing_ kisses for over an hour. It was the best kind of making out (well, at least for the middle of the afternoon). No forwardness, or need to go further than just kissing; just the two of us, together, our bodies pressed together and connected at the lips.

I loved it.

It was amazing.

Unfortunately, we heard the bells start chiming from the church down the street, and realized that it was getting late. Jesse had a lecture at 7—he still gave historic lectures, but he's gone a bit higher up than the Carmel Historical Society. Now he works at a bigger historical building, where he gets paid much more. Apparently, ever since he's started, the increase in visitors (especially women) has increased, which is no surprise to me.

He went to take a shower and get changed, while I breezed through the mail—bill, catalog, indistinct envelope, ooh, a paycheck for me! I opened it up and examined it. Not bad. Especially not when I added in all the tips I get.

I was putting it together with some other things that needed to go to the bank, when Jesse came out of the bedroom, in his shirt and tie and his hair still damp. He grabbed his jacket. "I should be done by 8:45." I leaned over and kissed him, which distracted him for another minute or so. "I'll see you later tonight," he said, breathlessly. I squeezed his hand quickly, and he was gone.

I was alone in the apartment. I wandered around aimlessly for a while, called Cee Cee to see what she was doing the next day and if she wanted to get together for lunch. She gave me some more details about her and Adam's relationship, which she didn't want to share with everyone else.

After making plans to meet up with her during my break, I got down on the couch with my books to study. I had a test tomorrow night, and since I'll be working tomorrow, tonight was the best bet at studying.

I immersed myself in my notes, until, several hours later—go Suze!—I heard the door open. I checked my watch. It was only 7:50, too early for Jesse to come home. Suddenly fear seized my brain. All I could think of was, "Aaron is off on bail." I was so terrified, I couldn't move.

Oh my God. He's here. And going to kill me. The intruder came around the corner into the living room…

And it was just Sister Ikinder. I let out a sigh.

While I was glad it wasn't someone trying to kill me, Sister Ikinder was second on the list of Who I Didn't Want to See.

"Have you eaten?" She asked. No "Hello," no, "What's the matter, you look like you've just seen a ghost?" (Ha. Ha.)

"No," I responded, just as curtly.

"Good. I would like you to make me some rice and chicken. Not fried, please." I stared at her. She has _got_ to be kidding. Has she EVER learned houseguest manners?

However, in the interests of Jesse, I stood up wordlessly and walked into the kitchen. I found some chicken breast in the freezer, and a bag of Uncle Ben's in the pantry. I grilled the chicken on Jesse's nifty grill pan, and boiled the rice.

I placed the plate in front of her rudely, and it rattled a bit. She shot me a dirty look, but said grace and began to eat. I sat down across from her, with my own food—chicken and rice, but with some cream of mushroom soup and cheese on it (yum). We ate in an awkward silence, until she spoke.

"Are you forcing that honorable young man into premarital relations?" I choked on my rice.

"Ex_cuse_ me?" I asked, agape. Who, I ask, WHO asks something like that? And at the dinner table? What ever happened to, "How was your day?" or, "Did you hear about that mudslide in Somolia?" for dinner conversation?

"You heard me. Hector" _Hector! _"—is a good Christian, and I don't want you to ruin his chances to go to heaven." Oh. My. God. What a _bitch!_ In my stupefied silence that followed, I thought, _Two can play at this game_.

"Given what we do at night, hell will be the only place he can go." She scowled.

"You are Satan's child," she hissed. Speak for yourself, Sister. I stood up, grabbed my coat, and, without another word, I left.

……………………………………………….

Jesse's lecture was over when I got to the museum. He was hanging out after, answering questions, as usual. A few girls I knew went to my college were hanging around him. I guess they were ever so interested in the history of Northern California. Snort.

Jesse was leaning casually against his podium, and looked just _so_ hot. I hung out in the back of the small auditorium where he gave his lectures. I leaned against the wall, crossed my arms over my chest, and watched with an amused smile on my face. After about five minutes, Jesse spotted me. His face lit up, and he waved me over. The girls talking to him looked at me with raised eyebrows, like, "Who's she?"

"Susannah, this is Jenna, Lacy, and Annie. Ladies, this is my fiancé, Susannah." Their smiles faltered.

"Hey," I said, then I turned to him. "I have to talk to you about our houseguest," I said, and he sighed.

"What now?"

"You finish up. I'll wait for you."

"Don't worry… we have to go," Jenna said, resignedly. They left, and Jesse was free to go. He quickly signed out in the office, then came back over to me. I fell into his arms, and he gave me a hug.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"She said that I was the child of Satan." He looked shocked.

"She didn't."

"She did. Because I told her that we do things that will get you sent to hell." He groaned and closed his eyes.

"You didn't."

"I did. But she totally asked for it! I mean, who _asks_ people if they are having premarital sex? Huh? Especially not your _hosts_." He shook his head. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and we started walking.

"What am I going to do with you?" He asked playfully. I leaned against him and nipped his ear just the slightest bit with my teeth.

"How about what I told Sister Ikinder we do?" I whispered. "It's not nice to lie to a nun." Jesse groaned.

"Stop trying to seduce me."

"Is it working?" He shot me a look, and started tickling my side. I shrieked, and started squirming. He held on to me tighter, but continued to torture me. I finally got away, and I ran down the street, and he chased after me.

I ran around the corner, but he finally caught up to me. He held me against the wall of the apartment building we were at, and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and kept kissing him, and kissing him, and kissing him, until suddenly someone ran into Jesse, pushing him aside. They kept running around the corner, without so much as a "'scuse me."

"Jerk," I muttered. I looked around. "Hey, this is Beth's building! You know, Beth had called me earlier to ask me to stop by either today or tomorrow… she said she had something to tell me." I pulled out my cell phone, and called her number. Busy signal. That means she's home. Her building is very low security, so I opened the front door and climbed up to the second floor. 2A. Jesse was behind me, keeping his distance. I knocked on her door, but no one answered. I tried the knob, and it opened.

"Beth?" I called, wandering into the apartment. "Hey, where are you?" I heard a phone tone coming from the other room, so I walked, not even thinking about it, into her bedroom.

Did you ever wander into the pornographic section at the video store as a kid? Or stumble across the corner of the store with all the "adult" toys? You stare, and stare, but you can't figure out what you're looking at. That happened to me then.

On the bed was something strange. I tried to figure out what it was, but my brain wasn't focusing.

Only when I heard Jesse's quick gasp and felt his hands on my arms did I realize what I was looking at. Beth, sprawled on the bed wearing blue track pants and a white (and red) tank top.

With a hole in the chest.

……………………………………………….

Review! Long ones. And I might get another chapter up on Friday :-)


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 (Jesse's POV—thought we'd visit him for a little while)

Susannah cried out, and ran over to the bed. I held her back though—Beth was obviously dead, and I've watched enough CSI episodes to know not to compromise the crime scene (_a/n: doesn't Jesse seem like a CSI person?) _I took Susannah's cell phone from her, and called the police.

A few minutes later, the police came. While we waited, I pulled Susannah into the living room and held her while she cried. Susannah was too indisposed to talk to the police, so I did. One was the partner of the police officer who had questioned me about Mara. He eyed me.

"Do I know you?"

"You questioned me about the attack on Mara Lowell," I explained. "My fiancé—" I gestured to Susannah, who was still crying into a pillow on the couch "—was friends with both girls." He nodded, and wrote something down in his book.

"Tell me what happened." I sighed.

"Susannah came to walk me home from work. We were joking around, and I chased her over to Beth's building. We were…" How to put this? "Standing outside the building, when someone ran into me, and continued around the corner."

"Just standing?" He asked, with his eyebrows raised. My face flushed.

"We were kissing." He nodded, and continued writing. I noticed his partner examining Beth's body, and I suppose collecting evidence.

"Continue."

"Anyway, after we were, er, interrupted, Susannah noticed that we were outside the building, and that Beth had asked her to come by earlier. We walked up, and realized the door was open, so we went in, and then found her like that." By then, Susannah had composed herself. I tried to comfort her the best I could, but there was only so much I could do. Losing a friend is hard enough, but losing two?

"Miss Simon, did Ms. Postmouth contact you today?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "I was at the library, and she called me. She said she needed to tell me something."

"Was there anything…unusual about the phone call?" Susannah paused.

"Her voice sounded a little weird. Like, she was upset. Confused maybe?" The police questioned her a bit more, until they finally let us leave.

It was after ten when we finally got home. Sister Ikinder was already asleep.

While Susannah wasn't crying anymore, her lack of emotion worried me. She got into a tank top and pajama pants without saying a word, and when she climbed into bed she still was silent, staring at the ceiling with a blank face. I got into bed next to her, and took her hand. I kissed is softly.

"Susannah, I'm so sorry," I whispered. She finally turned to look at me.

"I know, Jesse. But what if I'm next?" I didn't know what to say. Ever since Angela had been attacked in the alley, that had been my greatest fear.

…………………………………………………………………………………..

Suze's POV

I had finally fallen asleep, but no sooner had I closed my eyes then I heard the incessant, blaring noise of my alarm clock. I had work.

"Susannah, call in sick. You need some rest," Jesse pleaded. I shook my head.

"What I need is to get my mind off of it," I said sadly. I finished getting dressed, then left for work.

All during the subway ride, the picture of Beth's body, lifeless and bloody, kept showing up in front of me. By the time I got to work, I was extremely edgy. I kept screwing up orders, bringing the wrong thing to the wrong table, and nearly dropping things.

It was almost the end of my shift when Sazz noticed that I was unfocused and upset. "What's up, Simon?" she asked. I sighed.

"It's my friend Beth… she died." Her eyes widened.

"Why? What… what happened?"

"Someone shot her." I said blankly. Sazz dropped the glass she was holding, but luckily it didn't break. I heard someone calling me. It was one of the hostesses, asking me to get to a table. I began walking over, but someone grabbed my sleeve. It was a customer who I had been serving, and he did not look happy.

"Yes, sir?"

"This is not what I ordered. I asked for my steak to be medium, with a side of plain pasta. This is clearly rare, and this pasta is _not plain_! Not to mention this wine, which I did not order. I asked for a vodka with a twist, _not_ cabernet!" His voice had gotten so loud, that a few of the neighboring tables and co-workers had turned to see what was going on. I blinked back tears, and nodded.

"I'm sorry, sir," I said. I went to pick up the wine glass, but my hands were shaking so much that it slipped, broke, and spattered wine all over the man's white shirt. I could see his face turning purple, and it wasn't from the wine. I opened my mouth to apologize, but Sazz had evidently come up behind me.

"Excuse me sir, but I think you should give her some slack. You don't know what she's had to deal with," she said sharply. The restaurant had grown quiet.

"What? Did she and her little _boyfriend_ get into a fight?" he asked condescendingly.

"No," I said rudely. "I just came across my best friend with a bullet in her chest last night." His sneer fell off his face, and a few people from neighboring tables gasped.

"So fuck off," Sazz concluded eloquently. She took the man's dining partner's glass of wine, and threw it at his face. "Asshole."

…………………………………………………………………………………

Ten minutes later, Sazz and I were in the manager's office, trying to explain our actions.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiser," I said. I wasn't, but I had to pretend in order to keep my job.

"If it were anyone else, you would have been fired immediately," he said. "But, given the circumstances, you can keep your job. Both of you can." My face broke into a grin. No _way_. Sazz had just thrown wine and told a customer to fuck off, and she kept her job? "Mr. Stewart has been a customer here for several years, and he has always given servers a hard time. However," he said, his face becoming sharp, "I am only allowing you to get away with this because of these extenuating circumstances. Any other mishaps, and you will be fired without a second thought."

"Thank you, Mr. Kaiser," Sazz said. We stood up. "It won't happen again."

"Now, get back to work. And Suze?" I paused. "I am very sorry about your loss." I gave him a sad smile.

"Thank you." Sazz and I walked out of his office. "Oh. My. God. I can NOT believe you still have a job!" I gushed. "I am so glad I didn't get you fired." Sazz shrugged, and pushed a piece of her artificially fire-engine-redstreaked hair behind her ear.

"I knew he wouldn't fire me. Not after the other night." She grinned at me wickedly. "He wouldn't get rid of me. He enjoys my, er, company too much." She walked away, getting back to work. I looked after her, gaping. Sazz was having sex with the boss? Wow. I shook myself mentally. I was done by now, so I signed out and left.

Back at the apartment, I found a note from Jesse. Thank God, Sister Ikinder wasn't there. I could NOT deal with her right now. The note from Jesse said: "Susannah, I went to the library to study for finals with Peter." Peter was Jesse's lab partner this semester. "When you get off work, come down. I want to see you. Love, Jesse." I obliged, changing into jeans and a red sweater, and heading down to the library.

I wandered into the university library, looking around for Jesse. I finally spotted the back of his head, and started heading over. I saw the guy across the table look at me, and say something to Jesse, who turned around. When he saw me heading towards him, his face softened. There weren't any free chairs—finals were coming up and the library was full—so Jesse pulled me into his lap. Pete looked at the two of us.

"Susannah, I presume?"

"Call me Suze."

"How are you doing?" Jesse asked carefully. "Was work okay?"

"Not really. Sazz and I almost got fired," I confessed. Jesse looked worried.

"What happened?"

"A customer was giving me a hard time, and Sazz had a few choice words for him," I said. Even though, at the time, I had been about to pee my pants from fear, looking back, it was pretty funny. "Then she threw wine at him." Jesse rubbed the bridge of his nose, but Pete grinned.

"How did you two not get fired?" Jesse asked. "Especially her!"

"Well, he was very sympathetic to my plight," I explained. "And Mr. Kaiser's sleeping with Sazz." Jesse shook his head.

"But how are you doing?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Okay. I'm holding up." Jesse nodded and kissed my forehead.

"Good. Have you heard from any of your friends?" he asked. The police had said that they would notify them. I shook my head.

"I might call them to see how they're doing," I thought out loud. Jesse nodded.

"You should do that. I'll be back home at around 5:30, okay?" I nodded, and kissed him goodbye, and left.

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An hour later, Lisa, Cate, Mara, and I were in Mara's hospital room. The good news was that Mara will be allowed to leave in two days. However, the mood was markedly melancholy.

Angela was no where to be found. She wasn't answering phone calls, and she wasn't at her apartment. We figured she was with her parents down near San Diego.

"I'm beginning to wonder," Lisa said, breaking the silence, "If Aaron really did it." We all looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" Cate said. "He didn't have an alibi for any of the attacks. He went out with all of them. He even said that he and Lily had gotten into a fight that morning, and weren't you, and Krystal, and Beth the ones to break up with him? We all were. Because he was scary when he got angry." I looked at her sharply.

"Did he hit you?" I asked, astonished. She shook her head.

"No. He was hardly ever mad at me, specifically. But if he was mad at a grade on a paper, or if his parents did something… he freaked me out." Lisa and Mara nodded. "He got angry very easily. He was really, really intense when he was mad." I pondered this.

"But still… is he really stupid enough to kill Beth while he's off on bail?"

"Maybe that's what he wants you to think," Mara said.

"Maybe… but still. Angela doesn't fit."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"She never went out with him."

"Maybe hers was just a coincidence?" I suggested. But I had to admit—something didn't seem right.

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Happy Easter, all you Christian kids. Now, REVIEW! Make it your Easter gift to me, perhaps? Whoever has the awesome review for me might get a cameo… is that some incentive for you?


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for all your spectacular reviews. They make me very happy :)

Here is chapter 12. Enjoy! (PS- I don't know if I stated previously that Suze was a junior or what in college, but I changed my mind. She's a senior, and graduating in May.)

Chapter 12

Suze's POV

It's been a little less than 2 weeks since Beth was killed. Sister Ikinder got a place to stay during the week, but on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, she has to come back.

It was a week before Christmas, and both Jesse and I were off from school on our breaks. It was hard, getting used to not having Beth around. Mara was out of the hospital, and Angela had showed up finally, but has been very standoffish and hardly ever came out with us. We chalked it up to being grief, so we didn't press her.

Jesse had finished the last of his exams that day, and was finally able to relax. We were on the bed, him on his stomach, and me kneeling over his legs, giving him a massage. It was ten at night, and a Friday, so Sister Ikinder was asleep on the couch. Jesse was wearing only his shorts, and I was in a pair of boxers and a tank top. We were brainstorming a guest list for the wedding.

"Mom, Andy, Dave, and Jake, of course," I said.

"You forgot Brad," Jesse reminded. I rolled my eyes.

"No I didn't," I said darkly. Suddenly, I spotted an opportunity. I moved my hands down his back, lower, and lower, until-

"Susannah!" Jesse gasped. What? I had just grabbed his ass.

"Sorry, hands slipped," I lied. I returned to the guest list. "Gina, Cee Cee, Adam, Lisa, Mara, Cate, Angela, Grandma, Paul…"

"Paul?" Jesse asked. "Is that a good idea?" He turned his head to look at me more directly, and raised his eyebrows.

"Paul is fine. Completely over that whole crush thing. Besides, he has a girlfriend. Kat, I think he said her name was. She is actually a year below me at college. She's majoring in Fashion Design and Marketing, too. I've seen her a few times—not Paul's usual. She has blue streaked hair and a nose ring. She's cute, though. Petite." We paused, and I continued rubbing his back. He appeared to be enjoying it. "Have you thought about who you want to be your best man?" I asked. He thought a bit. He had friends, of course, but having only been alive for about 5 years, he wasn't able to make the strong relationships I had, being on this earth for 22 years. Plus, he didn't have any family.

"Hunter, perhaps… or maybe Luke?" I nodded. Luke was actually Mara's boyfriend. "What about your maid of honor?"

"Gina," I said. "Cate, Mara, Lisa, and Cee Cee will be bridesmaids, I think." I finished the massage, but before I could climb off of Jesse, he rolled over, grabbed my waist, and flipped me onto my back, him on top. He started to lean in, and I was about to kiss him back when he started tickling me. I squealed, and squirmed, and tried to get out from under him, but his heavy weight surrounded me, and kept me underneath him. All awhile shrieking and squeaking, I tried to wriggle myself out from under him. Unfortunately, my shorts were stuck underneath him, and slipped down my hips more and more as I slid out from underneath him. I had gotten as far as to have his head near the bottom of my stomach, and almost falling off the bed. I held on to his head, weaving my fingers into his hair to give me some leverage. He pressed his mouth against my lower stomach, to blow a raspberry. BAM. The door flew open, and Sister Ikinder stood there, fuming.

I suddenly saw Jesse and me from a 3rd person perspective. My shorts almost off. My fingers tangled in his hair, his head down dangerously low, with his lips in a less than innocent spot, too. It was completely harmless, but suddenly I realized how compromising our position was—and how loud I had been. Jesse realized this at the same time, and quickly rolled off of me, and I immediately pulled my bottoms back up.

"Excuse me, but I am trying to sleep." She gave me the evil eye. "I will pray for the two of you. Your souls need saving." With that, she left. Jesse sighed, and ran his hand through his hair.

"I guess I should be more quiet. Next time I might wake up the neighbors, and not just the nun in the living room," I said seriously. Jesse rolled his eyes, and hit me with a pillow. "Hey!" I feigned offense. I was about to hit him back, when Jesse grabbed it.

"Susannah, no pillow fights. You don't want to wake her up for a second time, now, do you?" I shuddered, predicting her reaction. She was pissed that time, we would probably need a bomb shelter if we woke her up again.

"Fine." I crawled under the covers, and Jesse joined me. I was about to fall asleep, when I remembered something. "Jesse, you took off work for Saturday night, right? For the Christmas party?" Jesse reached over and took my hand.

"I took off. Goodnight, Querida." He kissed my cheek, and then we both fell asleep.

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The next week flew by. Between class, work, and Jesse, I was working on designing my dress, and my bridesmaid's dresses. Jesse and I decided to be married in the church, and have the reception on the beach back in Carmel. Long dresses with lace trains aren't cool for the beach, so I designed my dress more simply, and not so long—just a simple, fairly modest dress with a white A-line skirt and a beaded strapless top.

On Saturday afternoon, Jesse and I both got ready for Lisa's family's party. It was upscale—Lisa's family had money—so Jesse wore a suit, and I got a red silk halter dress.

By six, we were at the hotel ballroom, mingling with people. Lisa, of course, was there, with her boyfriend, as was Cate and Mara. I spotted Angela wandering around sullenly, until I waved her over.

"So, guys, did you decide when you're going to get married?" Lisa asked. Angela joined our group.

"We're thinking May or June," I said, and Jesse, whose arm was around my waist, squeezed me gently.

"What are we talking about?" Angela asked.

"Suze and Jesse's wedding," Mara said. "God, guys, it's just so amazing that you're getting married. You two are meant for each other." I grinned, and Jesse kissed me on the cheek, but Angela looked confused.

"You two are getting married? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I did, didn't I?" I asked, perplexed. "If not, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overlook you." She didn't say anything, just pouted. We talked about a few other details, until Luke had a question.

"Who's your maid of honor?"

"My friend Gina, from New York." I had called her to ask, and she was more than willing to do this. "Then, I want Cee Cee, Cate, Mara, and Lisa to be bridesmaids." Angela didn't say anything, but I felt her anger. "I wish I could include you," I explained, "but really, we only want a small wedding. And 4 is already a lot of bridesmaids for a small wedding." She nodded, but no one got a chance to say anything, because Mrs. Hathaway, Lisa's mother, announced that the supper was ready.

Jesse pulled his chair close to mine. He must have been in a really good mood, since he kept sneaking me quick kisses on my cheek, and squeezing my hand, and whispering in my ear. It was a lovely meal, though, of course, Jesse distracted me from really appreciating the wonderful food. After eating, there was more socializing, and dancing. Jesse stood at my side the entire night.

It was getting late, and people were beginning to leave. Angela looked like she was heading towards me, but Jesse suddenly came up behind me. He placed his hands on my hips, and pressed his cheek against mine.

"Susannah, are you ready to go? Sister Ikinder said she was at a retreat this weekend."

"Does that mean we can have that pillow fight?" I asked, and he chuckled.

"Whatever you want, Querida."

We were getting our jackets when Angela stumbled into me. She was drunk.

"Soozee… whah are yoo leavin' so soon?" She slurred. "Stay… par-tay!" I felt it would be pointless to point out that there were only about 15 people left, of the original 50 or so. All of our friends had left, it was just Jesse, Angela, and me. I sighed.

"Jesse, I can't let her drive herself home. You go home, and I'll drive her to her apartment then come home, okay?" He sighed, but nodded.

"Hurry up, Susannah." I took Angela's car keys, and walked her out to her SUV. With that, for the first time that night, Jesse and I parted ways.

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Okay! I am predicting 2 more chapters. Maybe 3. I DO have everything figured out, though. And please, REVIEW and the next chapter—the BIG chapter where everything comes out—will be posted sooner!


	13. Chapter 13

We arrived at Angela's apartment building. I led her up the stairs, and into her kitchen, where I sat her down.

"Take this, and I'll find you some pajamas." I left her at the kitchen table with an aspirin and a glass of water, and ventured into her bedroom.

I dug through the drawers, until I finally found a night shirt. As I was leaving, I spotted an open notebook on her desk. Curiosity got the better of me, and I set the clothes on the bed, and picked up the notebook.

I didn't get a chance to read anything, though, before the door slammed, startling me. I jumped. Angela was in the doorway, glaring at me.

"Sorry… I didn't read it, I swear." I dropped it, and picked up the clothes. "Here are your pajamas." I thrust them at her, but she didn't react. I was suddenly struck by the sharpness and alertness in her eyes. "Wait… aren't you drunk?"

"No," she spat out. "I couldn't think of any other way to get Jesse to leave you alone." I was beyond confused. I was flat-out perplexed.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked timidly. She appeared not to hear, and only began walking towards me slowly.

"Your _perfect_ Jesse. You two are the _perfect_ couple. Young, smart, beautiful, 'meant for each other.'" They were Mara's words echoing from earlier this evening, but Angela said them differently. Not in an adoring, happy tone, but in a jealous, burning, acidic one.

"Angela? Is this about the bridesmaid thing? Because if it bothers you so much, you could have just talked to me…" Angela had advanced, and I backed into the dresser. My brain couldn't function. I didn't know what was happening, or what to do. I just watched her in bewilderment.

"This isn't about the bridesmaid thing!" She snapped. "This is about Mara. And Krystal. And Cate. And Lisa. And Beth. You're all _perfect_ aren't you? With your _perfect_ looks and your _perfect_ grades and your _perfect fucking boyfriends._" With that, I suddenly noticed her hand.

And the knife that was in it.

Fear seized my heart. I was pinned in the corner of a 6th floor room, with a knife-wielding psycho blocking the only exit.

"Angela, what are you doing?" I cried. Oh God, why did I suddenly need to be Miss Responsible Don't-Drink-And-Drive? Why couldn't I have brought Jesse with me? Why didn't I see that it was Angela the whole time? Now, because of my stupid blindness, I was going to be her next victim.

I was going to die. And I was so grossly unprepared. What was the last thing exchanged between Jesse and I? Not sweet, tender, "I love yous."

"Hurry up."

That was the last thing we had said to each other.

I groped blindly for something—anything—to protect me. So far I had come up with a bra and a perfume bottle.

"You know," she said, almost thoughtfully as she studied the blade. "I thought I wouldn't have to kill you." I whimpered. "You never tried to take Aaron from me." I gaped.

"Aaron?"

"Yes. Aaron." She paused. "I am in love with him, you know that?" I gulped. "I always have. And I thought he loved me to. He slept with me." My eyes widened. I didn't know that. "But then he acted like he didn't know me. And dated all of my friends. Except for you." I dimly heard something outside of the room, downstairs, something. A neighbor. God, I wanted to scream so badly, but I couldn't find my voice. All I could do was stare at the knife. The long, silver, sharp blade.

"Angela, you should have told us you felt that way," I croaked. "I'm sure they wouldn't have"

"They all knew!" She barked. "I told them. They were all, 'I'm sorry, Angela, but I can't help it! Besides, friends are more important than boys, right?'" She took in a deep, shuddering breath. "Krystal was the worst. She didn't even pretend to care about my feelings. She just brushed me off. Didn't care at all. Which is why I doused her with gasoline and set her on fire… nothing less than torture for her." I started to cry. I'm not the crying type, but everything was hitting me with the force of a Mack truck.

"I didn't want to kill Beth either, she's my sister, you know?" She continued, "But then she pissed… me…off…" With that, she took a picture of Beth and Angela from the wall, and hurled it across the room. It slammed against the wall half a foot from my face, the glass shattering. One stray cut my arm, and I winced. "I wasn't going to kill her for that. Just teach her a lesson. But then she had to figure everything out, and confront me." Oh my God. Beth knew? Suddenly, I remembered. Beth's phone call. "I need to tell you something," she had said. Her voice sounded funny.

All of a sudden, I realized what that edge to her voice was. Fear. God, if I had just gone over there when she asked, instead of working on that damn project, maybe she would still be alive. Or maybe we'd both be dead.

I guess that's happening anyway, though.

"But, Angela, why me?" I asked, praying that someone would come to investigate the crash from when she threw the picture. "I never did anything with Aaron."

"No. But you're just so goddamn perfect. So nice, and funny, and sweet. Everyone likes you. And now you're getting married? That's all I've ever wanted to do. Get married to the person I love." She was finally only a few inches from my face. I stopped breathing. "You thought you were so nice to me, didn't you? Even though everyone else hated me. You pitied me. Ugly, fat, stupid me. You never liked me. It was all a show, wasn't it? I was your charity case." I shook my head vehemently.

"No, Angela, it wasn't like that, really." She scoffed.

"Don't lie." She readjusted the grip on the knife. "Say hello to my sister for me." Suddenly, she lunged at me. I ducked, and tried to get away, but she grabbed the back of my dress, which ripped.

I grabbed her arm, the one that had the knife, and tried to wrestle it away from her, but she maneuvered her wrist, and cut my hand. On instinct, I let go and pulled my bleeding arm close to me. In that split second of vulnerability, I felt a searing pain in my stomach, followed quickly by a second rush of hurt. I cried out, and stumbled. I clutched my stomach, and my hands felt wet. I began feeling dizzy, and fell to the ground. God, it was pain like I had never felt it. I started to laugh, but it hurt so much worse. My stomach was on fire. Angela's face hovered over me.

"Goodbye, Suze," she said, and she was about to plunge the knife in again, when I heard another voice.

Jesse's voice.

He knocked Angela to the floor and the knife went spinning away. I heard the sounds of a fight, though I couldn't see anything. Jesse must have been trying to get Angela away. _Thank you, Jesse_, I wanted to say, _but it's too late_. Darkness faded in and out as I lay there, bleeding.

Suddenly, Jesse's face loomed above mine, white and shaking.

"Susannah!" He whispered, stroking my hair. Tears began streaming down his face. He reached away for a second, but then I felt a soft pressure against my stomach. He was trying to stop the bleeding.

"Jesse," I whispered hoarsely. He cupped my face with his free hand.

"Oh, _Querida_," he cried. "Susannah, hold on… don't leave me."

"Jesse…" I said again. His face faded out. I could barely see his perfection. "I love you."

And then I knew no more.

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Sorry it was sort of short. But hey. I got it out to you, didn't I? In less than 24 hours. Now, review, my darlings.


	14. Chapter 14

Cee Cee's POV

"Mmm… Adam… move your arm. The phone is ringing," I mumbled. Adam was back home in Carmel, and we were spending our break together. He rolled over, grumbled something, and fell back asleep instantaneously.

"Hello?" I asked groggily when I finally managed to answer the phone.

"Cee Cee?" It was a man's voice, but I couldn't place it. Then I finally realized who it was.

"Jesse?"

"Cee, I need Susannah's home number." His voice sounded strange. Hoarse, and like he had a cold.

"She lives with you, genius."

"No, her parents' number, in Carmel." Suddenly, I realized why he sounded funny. He had been crying.

"947-555-1937. Why? Jesse, what's going on?" I asked.

"It's Susannah… she… Angela… tonight…" he stuttered, trying to find the words to explain what was going on. I was wide awake now, and nervous. "Just, please, come down to the hospital and I'll explain it to you."

"I'll pick up Mrs. Ackerman, and be there soon." I hung up, and rolled out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Adam moaned.

"It's Suze. Something happened. I have to go to the hospital." Unfortunately, he had already fallen back asleep again. I rolled my eyes, and hurriedly wrote a note and stuck it on the clock. Then I pulled pants on, and ran out the door.

…………………………………………………………………………

After about ten minutes of banging on the door at the Ackerman residence, I heard someone stumble down the stairs inside. David appeared at the door a moment later.

"Cee, what are you doing here?" He asked. "It's 2 in the morning."

"Go wake up your mom," I ordered. "Something happened to Suze." He no sooner turned around to go upstairs, when Mrs. Ackerman shot down the steps.

"Jesse just called," she said to me. She then turned to David. "Cee Cee and I are going to the hospital. I'll call when I know what's going on. Let Dad know where I am, okay?" She quickly kissed his forehead, and we ran to my car and sped off towards the city.

"Do you know what's going on?" she asked me, as we raced down the highway. I shook my head.

"Jesse mentioned something about Angela, Suze's friend. That's all I know." We rode the rest of the way in silence.

When we got to the hospital, a nurse directed us to the fourth floor, where we finally found Jesse.

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Jesse's POV

"Jesse?" I felt someone tap my shoulder, and I jumped, and looked behind me. It was Susannah's mother.

"Mrs. Ackerman, Cee Cee, hello," I said. I stood up, offering her my seat, but she only grabbed my arm.

"Jesse, what happened? Where's Susie?" I took in a deep, shuddering sigh.

"It was Angela," I said, at a loss of anything else to say. "She was the one who killed Krystal and Beth. Cee Cee gaped.

"She killed her own sister!" I nodded, and took another deep breath. I was so heartbroken, so nervous and so worried about Susannah, I was surprised I was still standing. "She did seem really weird that one day I had dinner with them."

"What happened?" Mrs. Ackerman pressed. I rubbed my eyes

"Angela chose Susannah as her next victim," I explained. Cee Cee and Mrs. Ackerman gasped. "By the time I got there, she had already been stabbed twice in the stomach." Mrs. Ackerman cried out, and started to collapse but Cee Cee caught her, and we both helped her into a chair.

"Is she okay?" Cee Cee asked.

"She's in surgery now. I won't know anything until she gets out."

For the next hour, every time a doctor emerged from the operating room doors, we all sat up straighter, sucked in our breath, and waiting for him to come over and tell us good news. Alas, it wasn't until four in the morning until an African American woman came out of the doors, asking, "Mr. De Silva?" She was dressed in green scrubs, dotted with red. Blood.

Susannah's blood.

"Yes?" She looked at Cee Cee and Mrs. Ackerman, who also were rapt with attention.

"Ms. Simon has suffered two stab wounds to the stomach, and a deep cut on her forearm. She lost a lot of blood." Susannah's mother gripped my hand. "She was going into shock when the EMTs arrived at the scene, because of her loss of blood. We gave her 2 ½ pints of blood in a transfusion, and we've stabilized her. She is, however, in a coma. We expect her to wake up within the next 24 hours, though we are still waiting to see how her body reacts to the new blood in her system."

"So she'll be okay?" Cee Cee asked hopefully. The doctor hesitated.

"Her chances are good. However, there is always a possibility that patients in comas never wake up. She's in a relatively light coma, so that's unlikely. But it can still happen."

"Thank you, Doctor. Can we see her?" I asked She shook her head.

"Not for a few hours. We'll tell you when she can be visited." She then directed us to a receptionist at the nurse's station, to fill out forms.

"What are your relations with Ms. Simon?" she asked us. Cee Cee spoke for us.

"Fiancé, best friend, and mother." I wandered away in a daze while the doctor asked a few more questions about Susannah, like her insurance and social security number. Mrs. Ackerman answered them, while I found an empty hallway, where I sunk down onto the floor against the wall, and rested my head on my knees.

Why couldn't I have gone with her? Or insisted that she come home? If it weren't for Beth… she would have been dead.

I sat there for a long time, just thinking and worrying. I was so lost in thought that I didn't even hear Mara approach.

"Jesse?" I jumped, and looked up. She lowered herself to the tile next to me. She saw my confused expression, and gave me a half smile. "Cee called Cate, who called us." She let out a long breath. "God, so it was Angela the whole time?" I nodded.

"You seem to be doing fine, for someone who just found out their best friend tried to kill them." She sighed.

"It doesn't really surprise me. I think Suze was the only one who actually was naïve to Ang. I mean, she was my roommate before we moved out two years ago. She always was jealous. Don't ask me why, but she was just never really a friend, you know? Just someone who hung around us, to be cool or something." She paused. "Did they find out why, though?" I shrugged.

"Maybe Susannah will be able to tell us," I said softly. "When I came in, Angela had already attacked her." Mara looked at me sideways.

"You were there?"

"Not soon enough," I said morosely. "I was able to pull Angela off of her before she caused even more damage, though. Thank God."

"How did you know to come, though? Mrs. Ackerman said that you said that you two left the party separately… that Angela was drunk, and Suze was going to take her home."

I wasn't sure how to answer this. I couldn't tell her that Beth came to me, frantic, telling me to go save her. Why Beth hadn't come to Susannah or I before this, I don't know, but I thank God that she came then.

"I guess I just had a feeling," I said vaguely. Mara was about to say something, when Cee Cee came around the corner.

"Guys," she said, "Dr. Grant says we can see her now." Mara and I leapt up, and hurried back.

"In 425," the receptionist directed. I looked to Mrs. Ackerman, expecting her to be the first one to go in, but she gently pushed me forward.

"You love her as much as I do," she said. "And if it weren't for you, she wouldn't be here now." I smiled gratefully, and carefully entered the room.

"_Nombre de Dios_," I whispered. Susannah lay on the bed peacefully, but bruises surrounded her eyes and there was a large bandage on her arm—bigger ones, I assumed, under the blanket where I couldn't see. Her skin was pale, and her lips were dry.

I sat down next to her, and took her limp hand in my own, and caressed it gently.

"Susannah," I whispered, as a tear slid down my cheek. "_Querida_… come back to me."

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Suze's POV

Light began to grow in the darkness. I heard a voice… a man's voice. Calling my name.

_God?_ I thought. _Is that you? Am I dead?_ The light grew brighter. I couldn't feel anything. Was this what dying was like? Numbness… bright lights… that sounds all par for the course.

But then the numbness began to ebb away. I felt things—pain, in my stomach. A leaden exhaustion pinning me to the soft thing I was laying on. Something gently massaging my hand.

I opened my heavy eyelashes, and struggled to focus. All I saw were blurry shapes. The fog slowly cleared, and I realized it was a person next to me, and that we were in a hospital room.

"Jesse?" I said. My throat was dry, and my voice echoed in my ears hoarsely. He looked up, his face wet and sheer hope and joy in his eyes.

"Susannah, _Querida,_ you're awake!" he said exuberantly. He raised his voice. "She's awake!" I heard noises outside, but I couldn't focus on anything but his hand, holding my face gently. I tried to touch his hand, but a sharp pain shot through my lower arm as I tried to raise it to my face. Now that the whole numbness thing was gone, pain was setting in all over my body. Where was that damn morphine? "Oh, Susannah, I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too, Jesse," I croaked.

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Whew. Sorry it took a bit… I had the hardest time writing this chapter. Anyway, hope you're happy. Review!


	15. Chapter 15

Hey all. Sorry it took a bit, but I had an… interesting time writing this. You might see why as the chapter progresses.

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! Sadly, this is the LAST chapter of "The Fire"… I hope you all enjoyed it! I am hoping this chapter wraps everything up for you :-)

P.S—after the line of periods, it may get a bit, er, R (or shall I say "M"?) rated. FYI. And it may SOUND a bit strange, what they do, but relax. People really do it.

But I'm sorry if it sucks. But be nice if you flame me :-)

5 Months Later

"I love you," I murmured against Jesse's lips.

"I love you too, Mrs. De Silva," he said back, still kissing me. We were in the back of a limo, driving from our wedding. We had _finally_ gotten married!

The past five months have been unbelievably busy; first there was my recovery, then Angela's trial, and wedding plans, not to mention work and school.

Angela was found guilty. Not only was my testimony a huge part, but also, she had written down a lot of information in that notebook I had glanced at in her room. Why do murderers do that? I mean, really. It's like they want to get caught.

Anyway, she's been sentenced to life in prison, the way it should be. (_a/n: Not a fan of the death penalty._) It's been hard, of course, having your friend try to kill you, but Jesse and the rest of my friends have been very helpful in getting me back on track. Aaron too came to visit my friends and I after he heard about who had really committed the crimes. He was, obviously, very upset and disturbed, but I know he'll get over it. It must be awful, though, knowing that three girls died because of him. Not, of course, that he had anything at all to do with it, but it is still hard having that on your shoulders.

I graduated at the end of May, and got a job at a local trendy boutique, designing a little, but mostly selling. I still work at the restaurant, just because it pays well, and the tips rock. I am hoping to get promoted by the end of the summer, since the owner of the shop seemed to really like some of my stuff.

"I'm never going to get used to that," I mumbled, with my lips still pressed against his and curled into a smile. "Mrs. De Silva… it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

He responded to that by sticking his tongue in my mouth.

I leaned against the door of the car, holding his face in my—manicured—hands, while his arms were holding my hips gently. We continued kissing, until I heard a knock against the divider between Jesse and I and the driver.

"We're here, Mr. and Mrs. De Silva," he told us. We sat back up, and I quickly smoothed down my hair—parted, and pulled back—and fixed my dress. Jesse straightened his tie, and took my hand. We climbed out of the limo, and were greeted by our friends and family.

As soon as I stepped onto the sand, I slipped off my shoes. There's nothing worse than sand in your shoe.

Gina slipped behind Jesse, and handed him a compact and a tissue. He looked at her blankly, before she sighed and flipped it open and held it so he could see his face. I started giggling when I realized why—I had smeared my lipstick all over his mouth and chin. He glowered at me playfully, though blushing, and quickly wiped it off before our official entrance.

After a few dances, and then eating, the sun began to set over the water. We were blessed with a beautiful day, and the sky blazed red and purple. Jesse and I were dancing, my head resting gently on his shoulder, when I saw Paul approach us, and he tapped Jesse's shoulder.

"May I cut in?" He asked Jesse. His jaw clenched the slightest bit, but I laid my hand on his cheek softly, and he stepped back, and Paul took his place.

"Congratulations," he said, once Jesse walked away.

"Thank you," I said. We were silent for a moment, until I asked, "Did you bring Kat?" He nodded, and jerked his head in her direction. I looked over my shoulder, and saw her talking to Sazz, who I felt obligated to invite since she put her job on the line for me. She really was a good friend.

I laughed when I noticed that Sazz had dyed her hair, and they both had purple streaks. "She's not like the others," I commented as he twirled me around.

"I got sick of the rich prep-school Daddy's Girls," he said conversationally. "I should have realized that they annoy me with Kelly, but one day I brought a girl like Kat to a Christmas party at my Dad's firm (_a/n: He might be a doctor, but to be honest, I don't care.) _ back before I moved to Carmel, and everyone responded badly… but when I brought Melanie, who looked like Kelly only with red hair to a summer banquet, and everyone loved me. Just like his father, they said. Lawyers are supposed to have refined trophy wives… but I'm sick of that. Though, you know, Kelly and Melanie and all those others were good for _some_ things," he said, and winked at me. I wrinkled my nose, but ignored that last comment.

"I like Kat, though. She's much cooler than Kelly," I said, grinning. "I particularly like her nose ring." He grinned back.

We continued dancing until the song was over, and he gave me a hug and relinquished me back to Jesse.

A few songs later, I went over and sat with Cee Cee, Gina, and Mara, who were all hanging out in the otherwise empty bar, talking. While everything else was in the open air, the bar was enclosed on all four sides. Gina handed me a wrapped box.

"Open it now, Simon…er… de Silva?" I smiled.

"You can call me Simon still." I started opening the white wrapping paper. "Why are you giving this to me now?" I asked, as I took the lid off the box.

"We thought you'd like to have it tonight," Gina said wickedly, "When you finally get devirginized."

Yes, Jesse and I still haven't had sex, for two reasons. One was a stern warning Jesse got from Dr. Grant the day I was finally released from the hospital. "Mr. de Silva, for the next few months you must let Suze rest," she had told him. Jesse, being naïve as he is, informed her that he will make sure that I stay home from work for a few weeks, and have Sarah bring over what we were learning at class. "That's all very important," she said, "but there are other things that she can't do. Her lower torso organs cannot be agitated. Do you understand?"

And finally, Jesse understood, and, blushing, obliged.

Since I wasn't allowed to have sex for 3 months, Jesse suggested that we wait until we're married. It was only two more months, and we would also be all good in the eyes of God. Not that I particularly cared what God thought of me, but Jesse wanted to wait, so we waited.

Mara laughed when she saw my eyes bug at what was in the box. "Like it?" she asked. (_a/n: I did some interesting research for this bit. Courtesy of Frederick's of Hollywood._) It was a completely see-through white babydoll, and matching very _revealing_ underwear. Also in the box was a white satin robe, that looked like it would barely hit my upper thighs. "Well, actually, it isn't so much what _you_ like, but what _Jesse_ likes." I punched her gently.

"We knew you wouldn't go out and get anything like this, so we did," Gina said, laughing.

I was about to say something, but I heard Jesse. "Susannah… Susannah?" I quickly put the lid back on the box.

"I'm in here!" I called, and he came in. He sat down next to me, and kissed my cheek.

"_Querida_, what do you say we get going? It's getting late, and just about everyone's gone," he said. I nodded, and Cee Cee winked at me.

"Okay," I said. I slid off the barstool, and gave them each a hug.

"Use it well," Mara said, and laughed. I rolled my eyes playfully.

"We'll be back in a week," I said. I grabbed my box, which Jesse looked at curiously but didn't ask about. He took my hand, said goodbye, and led me out back onto the beach. We said goodbye to everyone who was left, then climbed back into the limo.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

We were staying at a resort on the beach, an hour south of Carmel. I am still enamored with the ocean view, even after so many years, so when I saw our balcony overlooking the ocean, I dropped my bags and opened the sliding doors. I heard Jesse put his stuff down too, but he didn't follow me out.

"Oh, Jesse, you have to see this! The view is so beautiful!"

"I know," I heard him say from inside.

"Jesse, come on out! It's the most beautiful sight in the world," I gushed.

"I _am_ looking at the most beautiful sight in the world," he said. I sighed, and turned around.

"Jesse, you can't even see it from in he--" I started, but then I saw that he wasn't looking outside, but right at me. He was lounging on the loveseat, just staring at me with a small smile on his face. I smiled back, and walked over to him. I crawled on top of him, straddling his hips and sitting on his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and his arms encircled my waist. He kissed me, starting out slow, but they got more and more passionate.

When I felt him trying to fiddle with the zipper of my dress, I remembered the present from Gina, Cee Cee, and Mara. I got off his lap, stood up, and sauntered over to our stuff, grabbed the box, and disappeared into the bathroom.

I took off my wedding dress, hung it up carefully, and opened the box and put it on. I looked at myself nervously in the mirror, took a deep breath, and opened the bathroom door.

Jesse had taken his jacket off. He was at the table, removing a bottle of champagne from a ice bucket, and beginning to open it. He must have heard the door, because he turned around. As soon as he saw me, leaning against the door frame with my robe hanging open, revealing, well, just about everything that the rest of the gift didn't cover (which was pretty much everything), the top of the champagne bottle shot off, and the bubbles overflowed a tiny bit, in sick, clichéd symbolism. I grinned, and walked over as he stood there, frozen, as champagne flooded over his hand, staring at me.

I took the bottle and sat it back on the table, and then gently wiped his hand off with a cloth. The top few buttons of his shirt were undone, and I slowly began undoing the rest of them. Jesse leaned down and began kissing my neck, then up to my jaw line, and around my chin. I shoved his shirt off, then went for his pants.

After they were gone, and Jesse was left only in his boxers, he took off my robe, took a deep, shuddering breath, and gently laid me on the king-sized bed, sliding his hands down my sides, and down my legs, until his head was at my knees.

He came back up, kissing my legs gently—making me, embarrassingly, writhe with need—until he was at my stomach, and began parting the slit up the front of the babydoll. I was watching him do this with pleasure, but when I saw my scars I quickly covered them with my hands. However, Jesse kissed each of my hands, and removed them from my stomach.

"Susannah," he said breathily, "don't cover your scars."

"But they're ugly," I protested, also breathing sort of hard.

"Not to me," he whispered huskily. "If you did not have scars, that would mean you would be dead. Your scars tell me that you're alive." He ran his fingers over them gently, tracing the bumps and uneven skin. I caught his face in my hands, and pulled him up to me and kissed him, hard, on the lips.

He kissed back lovingly, full of passion, while his hands slipped down and removed the white bottom to my ensemble. I did the same to his shorts, while he gently removed my top, his hands pausing to massage my chest beneath the lacy fabric.

I moaned, and delved my hands into his hair. We broke apart for a moment, to get it over my head, and then we just paused, and looked at each other, panting. After a few seconds, Jesse dove back in and kissed me again, and again, and again. I rolled him over, so I was on top. Starting at his neck, I traced my fingers softy, following the trail with my lips. He shivered with pleasure; even more so, when I focused on one particular area of his body. He shuddered and moaned my name, tangling his fingers in my hair.

Once he got control of himself again, he took my hips gently in his hands, and was on top again. I looked into his eyes, and saw such love, trust, and respect in his eyes, and I was _so_ glad I was his wife.

He ran his hand down the side of my face, and I noticed minute beads of sweat on his upper lip and forehead. I felt his hand shake the tiniest bit against my cheek, and I realized he was nervous.

"Jesse," I whispered. He smiled, kissed me softly, and then….

And then.

It wasn't amazing. It never is the first time, as Cee Cee, Mara, Gina, Lisa, Cate, and, before their deaths, Beth and Krystal, had told me.

But Jesse was amazing. He was so gentle, and loving, and caring.

Afterwards, we lay there together. He stroked my back, while I absentmindedly played with his hair on the back of his head. His dancing fingers helped the exhaustion of the days events to hit me, until 10 pound lead balls were attached to my eyelashes, and I succumbed to their weight.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

The next morning, I awoke to find a very naked self curled up against a very naked Jesse. I saw that it was nearly 10, and unwound myself from Jesse's embrace, pulled on a rope that actually covered my thighs (complimentary of the resort), and took the phone out onto the balcony.

"Room service."

"Can I order breakfast?" I asked quietly. After asking them to bring up coffee, orange juice, sausage, fruit, and, Jesse's favorite, poached eggs, I snuck back into the room.

I watched Jesse snore quietly while I waited for breakfast to arrive. As soon as I heard the first tap on the door, I shot over and opened it, not wanting Jesse to wake up.

"Thank you," I whispered, closing the door.

I tiptoed over to Jesse, and climbed carefully onto the bed. Struck with an idea (all those years of Cosmo are paying off, I guess), I took an ice cube out of the now nearly melted ice bucket. I gently removed the sheet preserving Jesse's innocence—not that there was much left, after last night—and, after admiring the view for a moment, softly placed the ice cube against his wrist. I slowly slid it up his arm, down the side of his chest, while I blew on the water left in the ice cube's wake. By the time I reached his hip, his eyes opened, and fluttered closed with pleasure a split second later. I smiled, and pretended he was still asleep. I then continued down his leg , then jumping over to the other one, and moving up that one.

When I got back to the top of his leg, his eyes lifted again. He was breathing heavily. I sat up, and began to crawl off of him.

"Oh, good, you're up," I said playfully. "Breakfast is here." I was about to stand up, when I felt him tug at the back of my robe, and I fell back onto his stomach.

"Oh, no, you don't," he growled, slipping out from under me and then leaned over me. He undid my robe, and shoved it off.

Alas, we didn't get to eat breakfast until _well_ past lunch time.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

All that week, Jesse and I enjoyed ourselves. Though we didn't get out of our room a whole lot, we did enjoy a few nice evenings out, and some lazy afternoons on the side of the pool.

Unfortunately, by the end of the week, we had to pack up and return to our apartment. We both had to get back to work. Jesse had taken a second job during the summer when he's off from school, in addition to his lecturing; he was working at a local pediatrician's office, as a secretary. I had laughed when he told me.

He is completely oblivious to the feminine connotations of the title.

But he isn't just a secretary; he's also sort of training, and helps with the weighing and measuring of kids—that sort of preliminary stuff that you do before the doctor actually gets to you.

I had gotten a promotion as well; the boss of the store I worked at liked a lot of my designs, so I'm actually a full designer. It isn't a huge brand name or anything—but I _love_ seeing my name on the tag.

All in all, life had gotten so much better since that fall. It's been hard looking back, and I know it's the same for all of us. But now, though the past is dark, the future is brighter than ever.

Because Jesse and I are together, forever.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Okay, guys. THE END.

I'd like to take this time to thank all my reviewers. You're all awesome.

I'd also like to ask that anyone who's ever read this story to review. I'd like a critique on my writing. I'd like anything you have to say about my story, actually. But I really would like some honest writing constructive criticism, because I want to improve.

Anyway. I'm not sure when I'll have a new story, but hopefully soon. Perhaps Spring Break will give me time to write.

Again, thank you to all who reviewed (and who WILL review this chapter, hint hint).

Jane


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